Maharashtra Minister of Higher and Technical Education Chandrakant Patil, who is Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) candidate for the Kothrud Assembly seat in Pune, will file his nomination papers tomorrow (Thursday, October 24).
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Patil wrote, "Due to the blessings of all the Kothrudkars, I have been announced as a candidate of Mahayuti from the Kothrud Assembly constituency for the upcoming Assembly elections. On October 24, along with all Kothrudkars, I will be going to fill out the nomination form. Be sure to shower your blessings and love upon me, Kothrudkars. This is a humble request."
Meanwhile, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) hasn't declared its candidate for the Kothrud seat yet. However, BJP leader Ujwal Keskar, who is upset with Patil's nomination, has vowed to contest as an independent.
Speaking to The Free Press Journal earlier, Keskar said, "Chandrakant Patil is an outsider and has little knowledge about the problems of Kothrud. The party workers had urged senior leaders to give a local face as the candidate in this seat. However, the party has again fielded Patil." He continued, "In 2019, when Patil was the party state chief, he wanted a safe seat to contest the Assembly polls, so he chose Kothrud and denied a ticket to sitting MLA Medha Kulkarni. This time he has negated her threat as she has been given a Rajya Sabha seat. Also, Murlidhar Mohol, who could have been in contention for this seat, has become the Lok Sabha MP and has been made the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Cooperation."
Keskar, a former leader of the opposition in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), further said that he is a "senior politician" and that the "BJP should have considered his name."
Additionally, Amol Balwadkar had been another BJP leader who had been vying for the party ticket from Kothrud. He had even challenged the party leadership, stating that he would consider other options if he was not given the ticket.
