The Kasba Peth and Pimpri-Chinchwad assembly bypolls will be the big test for Maharashtra’s Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government and a prestige issue for the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.
Traditionally both these seats have been with the BJP but the flash elections had to be called due to the deaths of MLAs Mukta Tilak of Kasba Peth and Laxman Jagtap of Pimpri-Chinchwad.
This will be the second instance of bypolls in the state since Shinde took power in the state by splitting the Shiv Sena and snatching the chief minister’s post from Uddhav Thackeray.
Though Uddhav’s side is not contesting the elections, he has put his might behind the MVA candidates in both constituencies.
Till last Thursday, Aaditya Thackeray was doing roadshows with MVA leaders. Shinde and Fadnavis were seen doing door-to-door campaigning till the last day.
Last week’s Tuesday cabinet meeting was also postponed to the next day for electioneering. On Wednesday, the meeting was called early as afterwards most ministers paid a quick visit to Pune for campaigning.
Recently, after completing his Aurangabad tour, CM Shinde late at night reached Pune and participated in rallies from the next day. Observers say all this shows how crucial these two bypolls are for both sides.
After the change at the helm of the state, the first by-election happened in Mumbai’s Andheri constituency, when at the last moment BJP withdrew its candidate, making the polls virtually one-sided. Uddhav’s side had fought on a temporary symbol and party name given by the Election Commission, and ended up winning. Now the MVA is eyeing both these seats that have been held by the BJP. The BJP and Shinde-led Shiv Sena are keen to retain the constituencies.
The dynamics in these two constituencies are interesting, say observers. The Kasba Peth seat is always regarded as a seat where Brahmin votes are dominant. That’s why after the demise of Mukta Tilak, it was expected that her husband could get a ticket from the BJP, and if not the party would pick a different Brahmin face. However, both BJP and Congress have opted for non-Brahmin faces here.
In Kasba Peth, where 10 candidates are in the fray, the contest is going to be directly between Hemant Rasane (BJP) and Ravindra Dhangekar (Congress). In fact, BJP had to bring ailing MP Girish Bapat in a wheelchair in one of the meetings where he spoke for a minute.
In Pimpri-Chinchwad, where the Nationalist Congress Party and Ajit Pawar hold considerable sway, a triangular contest is expected as the BJP has given a ticket to Ashwini Jagtap. Though the NCP has given a ticket to party loyalist Nana Kate, observers say Uddhav camp rebel Rahul Kalate may spoil the chances of the MVA. In this constituency, Uddhav’s new ally Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi has announced that it will be supporting independent candidate Kalate instead of MVA candidate Kate.
The BJP has been holding the Kasba Peth seat since 1995. In the previous election, Mukta Tilak got more than 75,492 votes and a 50% vote share. Laxman Jagtap has been winning the Pimpri-Chinchwad seat since 2009. First, he won as an independent candidate and later on a BJP ticket. In the last election, he got more than 1.50 lakh votes with a 54% vote share.
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