The battle lines are drawn for the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly polls. Both alliances—the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)—have announced their candidates for the eight seats in Pune and three in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Here's an overview of each of these seats:
1. Kasba Peth Assembly Seat:
It's a repeat of the 2022 bypoll in Kasba Peth as Congress's incumbent MLA Ravindra Dhangekar will face BJP's Hemant Rasane. BJP Pune Chief Dheeraj Ghate has expressed his discontent as the saffron party did not nominate him. Kunal Tilak, whose late mother Mukta Tilak was an MLA of Kasba Peth, was also in the running for this seat from the BJP. Meanwhile, MNS has fielded Ganesh Bhokare here.
2. Shivajinagar Assembly Seat:
BJP's sitting MLA Siddharth Shirole will once again face Congress's Datta Bahirat in Shivajinagar Assembly constituency. In the 2019 Assembly elections, Bahirat lost to Shirole by a narrow margin of 5,200 votes. The Shivajinagar constituency had around 12 aspirants, including Manish Anand and Sunny Nimhan from the Congress. Nimhan, a former BJP corporator and son of ex-MLA Vinayak Nimhan, was keen on a ticket from Shivajinagar.
3. Pune Cantonment Assembly Seat:
Congress has fielded party loyalist and former minister of state for home Ramesh Bagwe from the Pune Cantonment Assembly seat. He will face sitting MLA Sunil Kamble of the BJP. Pune Cantonment has been considered favourable to Congress for several decades. Bagwe was elected in 2004 and 2009. In 2014, the BJP changed the trend, defeating Bagwe first with Dilip Kamble and later with his brother Sunil Kamble in 2019. Reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, the constituency has 2.9 lakh voters.
4. Kothrud Assembly Seat:
Shiv Sena (UBT) has announced Chandrakant Mokate’s candidacy for the Kothrud Assembly seat. With Mokate’s entry into the race, Kothrud is poised for a triangular contest among three prominent candidates: Chandrakant Patil from the BJP, Kishor Shinde representing the MNS, and Mokate. Mokate was the first MLA of Kothrud after the delimitation of constituencies in 2009. However, for the last two terms, the BJP has been winning this seat.
5. Parvati Assembly Seat:
In Parvati, the NCP (SP) has fielded Ashwini Kadam, who has represented the area for 15 years in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and previously chaired the standing committee. Kadam will face BJP’s three-time MLA Madhuri Misal, who won the 2019 election with a significant margin of over 35,000 votes. However, BJP's Shrinath Bhimale remains determined to contest the polls from Parvati. It remains to be seen if he files the nomination as an independent.
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6. Khadakwasla Assembly Seat:
NCP (SP) has fielded Sachin Dodke against BJP's three-term MLA Bhimrao Tapkir in Khadakwasla. In the 2019 Assembly polls, Tapkir won by a narrow margin of 3,000 votes. Meanwhile, the MNS has nominated Mayuresh Wanjale, the son of late Khadakwasla MLA Ramesh Wanjale. Ramesh Wanjale, popularly known as 'Gold Man,' was the first legislator from the Raj Thackeray-led party to be elected from Pune city. He died of a massive heart attack in 2011.
7. Hadapsar Assembly Seat:
Ajit Pawar's faction of the NCP has renominated Chetan Tupe from the Hadapsar Assembly seat. He will lock horns with NCP-SP's Pune City Chief Prashant Jagtap. The Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA) has announced Afroz Mulla as its candidate from Hadapsar. Additionally, Maharashtra Muslim Conference (MMC) National Convener Zubair Memon has also announced that he will contest the elections from the Hadapsar seat. This Assembly seat has a sizeable Muslim population and that could be the deciding factor.
8. Wadgaon Sheri Assembly Seat:
Wadgaon Sheri Assembly seat was one of the most contentious seats for the ruling Mahayuti because BJP workers had declared they wouldn't campaign if the sitting NCP MLA Sunil Tingre was renominated. Despite this, Tingre has been given the candidacy. He will face off against Bapusaheb Pathare of the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP. Now, it remains to be seen if former BJP MLA Jagdish Mulik adheres to the alliance dharma and supports Tingre's candidature or contests independently.
9. Pimpri Assembly Seat:
Despite opposition from party leaders, Ajit Pawar's NCP has renominated Anna Bansode from the Pimpri Assembly seat. Bansode, a two-time MLA, has won from this reserved seat in 2009 and 2019. The Pimpri-Chinchwad unit of the NCP was upset with Bansode's style of functioning. They also cited concerns about his health and urged top party leaders to deny him the ticket. Bansode will face a tough fight from NCP-SP's Sulakshana Shilwant.
10. Bhosari Assembly Seat:
Ajit Gavhane has been declared the NCP-SP candidate from the Bhosari Assembly seat. He recently left Ajit Pawar's NCP and joined Sharad Pawar's faction along with over 20 former corporators. He will face off against two-term MLA Mahesh Landge. In the 2014 polls, Landge ran as an independent and won, whereas in 2019, he contested on a BJP ticket and secured a massive victory with a margin of over 70,000 votes.
11. Chinchwad Assembly Seat:
Despite Ajit Pawar's NCP trying hard to get the constituency in the seat-sharing arrangement, the BJP got the Chinchwad Assembly seat and fielded the party's Pimpri-Chinchwad chief Shankar Jagtap. His sister-in-law Ashwini Jagtap is the incumbent MLA. On the other hand, the NCP (SP) has nominated Rahul Kalate. Former NCP corporators Nana Kate and Bhausaheb Bhoir have announced that they will contest as independent candidates from the constituency.
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