Pune's Hills Will Remain Untouched, Says BJP's Shivajinagar MLA Siddharth Shirole; Addresses Traffic Congestion & Rising Crime Concerns (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO)

Siddharth Shirole, the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Pune's Shivajinagar, has been renominated by the saffron party for the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly polls. In an exclusive interview with The Free Press Journal, Shirole spoke about the pressing issues in his constituency, such as traffic congestion, and assured that the ruling Mahayuti alliance is actively working to address them. He confirmed that the controversial Balbharati-Paud Phata Road project has been scrapped and assured that the hills in the city will remain untouched. Responding to the opposition's accusations of the BJP engaging in dynastic politics, Shirole defended his party and explained why those claims were baseless.

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'Indebted to BJP for renominating me'

Shirole said he was indebted to his party for renominating him from the Shivajinagar Assembly seat. He thanked party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, for reposing faith in him. "I will make sure that the faith they have reposed in me for the second time in a row is upheld. I will not let them down. I will ensure that with the organisation's help, we will win by a handsome majority this time," he said.

'We are addressing the traffic congestion as an urban renewal challenge'

The BJP leader stated that the double-decker flyover on University Road is 75% ready and will be operational by January 2025, solving major traffic issues. "Another pain point has been the Old Mumbai-Pune Highway. The work has been going on very fast and is scheduled to end in December this year. The road widening is complete and the litigations are over. Besides, there are two underbridges in Khadki and Range Hills. The DPR for widening those has begun and the tender should be out by March next year. Additionally, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has allocated funds for widening the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road that leads from Khadki to Bopodi, and the acquisition will begin soon. Apart from this, the Shivajinagar-Hinjawadi Metro is on a fast track and by May 2025, it will be operational. The two other metro routes (PCMC to Swargate and Ramwadi to Vanaz) have begun operations, with the maximum network coverage in the Shivajinagar area. All these efforts will be realised and almost 70%-80% of traffic issues will get satisfactorily resolved within a year to come," Shirole said.

'The Balbharati-Paud Phata Road project has been scrapped'

"The BJP has scrapped the tender for the Balbharati-Paud Phata Road project, and in no way do we intend to make the road the way it was proposed. Devendra Fadnavis has categorically mentioned that if there is no consensus, the question of going ahead with the project does not arise. As of now, there is no need for the environmentalists to worry. The hills will not be touched as a lot of emotions are associated with it. I have been an avid trekker myself on the hills and I know how healing a process it is," said Shirole, adding that he will engage with the protestors.

'Pune Police has always been proactive'

Pune has been in the national news cycle for the past year for cases like the Porsche crash, Bopdev Ghat gang rape, Lalit Patil drugs bust, etc. When asked for his response, Shirole said, "I have been demanding the citizens to be vigilant as they say sunshine is the best disinfectant; the more information comes to us, we can communicate with the police. With more participation from citizens and harmonious coordination with the police, we can reduce crime in the city." Asked if there is a lack in police presence, he added, "Certain incidents have been unwarranted. I have been in constant touch with the police, they have been pretty much alert and they have always been on their toes. There are so many things that they prevent from happening but at times unfortunate things happen. Pune Police is proactive and is dealing with the crimes but we should be more helpful to make our city safer."

'Everyone has a democratic right in BJP'

There were several BJP leaders who were vying for the ticket from Shivajinagar. When asked if there is any infighting within the party, Shirole said, "There is a democratic environment in the BJP where everyone has the right to seek the ticket. But once the ticket is declared, everyone falls in line and works for the party. I have also been through this process. If you look at the core karyakarta of the BJP, he never rebels against the party. Hence, there is no doubt in my mind that everyone will work together." Meanwhile, there has been an internal tussle within the Mahayuti as the BJP workers have refused to campaign for Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and vice-versa. Speaking about this, the BJP leader said, "Our workers will definitely work for the Mahayuti irrespective of the candidate's party. The only goal is to win this election with a clear majority, come back to power and serve the citizens of this state. In my constituency, I recently had a meeting with the workers of NCP, Shiv Sena and RPI; they are all very buoyant, we are discussing how to coordinate and everyone is in a good state of mind."

'BJP grooms politicians unlike other parties'

From former Union Minister Raosaheb Danve's son Santosh Danve to Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Chavan's daughter Sreejaya Chavan and Shirole himself, the BJP named at least a dozen candidates who have links to political figures in its first list itself. When asked how they claim to be a party opposite to the other dynastic parties, he said, "In BJP, you aren't immediately propped up. Here, you enter politics, you work within the organisation for a considerable amount of time and once you are ready after that you can obviously aspire to contest the elections. I was not given a ticket in 2014 because my father was an MP. I worked within the organisation for five years from 2012 to 2017 at the city, state and national levels. After that, I was given a municipal corporation ticket in 2017 and then I became an MLA in 2019. In the BJP, we are groomed. I have been sent to states like West Bengal, Gujarat and Telangana to oversee elections. The BJP looks at dynastic politics to groom the next generation and then get them into politics."