Who will win in Chinchwad? Political equations in the segment

Pimpri: The Chinchwad Legislative Assembly constituency is a prestigious seat in the State. The BJP’s Ashwini Jagtap is the sitting MLA here. However, changes in the State politics impacted the local scenario also. It will be interesting to see whether the Maha Yuti or the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) or someone else wins the seat.

Activity is picking up in both rival camps in Chinchwad, which is seen as a BJP fortress. A candidate from the Jagtap family is most likely to be fielded by the BJP. City Unit President Shankar Jagtap has resolved to fight but many former corporators and office-bearers have opposed a candidate from the Jagtaps. This has given rise to internecine within the party in the segment.

Earlier, NCP (AP) local leaders used pressure tactics and staked their claim on the seat. This may lead to a deadlock within the Maha Yuti, it is said. However, the sitting MLA is likely to be fielded from the ruling alliance. It will be clear within a few days whether the Jagtaps or someone else gets the candidature.

On the other hand, people are curious to know who will be fielded from the MVA. The candidate will be decided after the seat-sharing talks are over. It is said that some aspirants from the MVA have already started campaigning. There is a tug of war within the MVA for the candidature. Local residents will have to wait for a few more days for the alliances to declare their candidates.

In 2019, there was a tussle between BJP’s Laxman Jagtap and Rahul Kalate. Jagtap won with a margin of 38,498 votes. Later, Jagtap died on January 3, 2023. His wife Ashwini won in the bypoll by defeating NCP’s Nana Kate and independent Rahul Kalate.

The total number of voters in the Chinchwad constituency is 5,16,836. In the 2023 bypoll, it was 5,66,415. There were 3,01,648 male and 2,64,732 female voters.