Pune Mayor Muralidhar Mohol; Ravindra Dhangekar, the sitting Congress MLA from Kasba Peth; and local Maratha leader Vasant More
Credit: X/@mohol_murlidhar; X/@DhangekarINC; X/@vasantmore88
Maharashtra's cultural capital of Pune - a Congress bastion-turned BJP stronghold will witness a fierce triangular contest with the entry of firebrand local leader Vasant More.
The BJP has fielded former Pune Mayor Muralidhar Mohol against Ravindra Dhangekar, the sitting Congress MLA from Kasba Peth.
Last month, because of internal differences, Vasant More resigned from the Raj Thackeray-led MNS.
Thereafter, he met NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar, however, it did not work out.
More, a Maratha, also met Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi founder Prakash Ambedkar and was immediately asked to contest Pune.
The Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) too is planning to put up a candidate - and this could make the contest more interesting.
Pune goes to polls on Phase-4 on 13 May and a lot of developments are in store.
A Maratha-face, Mohol, who took over as Mayor after BJP’s late Mutka Tilak, had secured the ticket, even though former Pune city unit chief Jagdish Mulik, and RSS-BJP functionary Sunil Deodhar too were keen. Mohol is considered close to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.Mohol, who comes from an RSS background, was accepted as the candidate.
On the other hand, Congress chose Dhangekar, an OBC leader, who, in the Kasba Peth bye-elections, breached the three-decade-old BJP bastion in the heart of Pune city.
Incidentally, all three of them - Mohol, Dhangekar and More are veterans of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), one of the biggest corporations of the country - having served as Corporators.
The five Assembly segments of Pune seat are - Vadhgaon Sheri, Shivajinagar, Kothrud, Parvati, Pune Cantonment (SC) and Kasba Peth. Four are under control of BJP, one is held by Congress and another by NCP, who had switched sides from Sharad Pawar to Ajit Pawar.
Pune had been represented in the Parliament by veterans - in 2019 by BJP’s Girish Bapat, who died last year.