Monday (October 7): Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil is facing a united opposition from Pune’s Kothrud seat and it will be interesting to see how he takes up the challenge.
The state minister, who is considered no. 2 in the Devendra Fadnavis Cabinet, is fighting his maiden Assembly election.
He is also facing the tag of being an “outsider”, since he hails from Kolhapur.
Some Brahmin outfits also claimed that denial of ticket to sitting MLA Medha Kulkarni was a slight to the community.
However, Mr. Patil dismissed such concerns, claiming his meetings with various sections of people in the constituency indicate that the wind is blowing in his favour.
“I am not an outsider for Pune, and for Kothrud. I’ve been associated with Pune as a guardian minister and have been active in the city since my days in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (BJP’s students wing). The people of the constituency will not consider me an outsider,” Patil said.
But, with the city-based Akhil Bhartiya Brahman Mahasangh speaking in different voices over support to Patil in Kothrud, which has a sizable population of the community, there have been speculations that a possible Maratha-Brahmin rift may queer Patil’s poll pitch.
He is pitted against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) candidate Kishor Shinde, who also has the backing of the opposition Congress and NCP.
Patil’s candidature from Kothrud, a BJP stronghold is considered as one of most upmarket residential and commercial areas in the city, earlier saw dissensions in the party ranks with some calling him an “outsider”.
The BJP has also been highlighting its developmental projects taken up in the area, including Metro rail and construction of some flyovers to ease the traffic snarls being faced by locals.
On the other hand, MNS candidate Kishor Shinde, who has the backing of the Congress and NCP, is equally confident of a win, saying he would emerge as a “giant killer”.
Claiming that he would send Patil packing to hometown Kolhapur, Shinde said the state BJP chief’s candidature from Kothrud is injustice to sitting MLA Kulkarni and BJP leaders like Murlidhar Mohol, who nurtured the seat for five years.
“There is a common sentiment among people in Kothrud that their MLA should be someone from amidst them,” he said.
The Kothrud suburb, considered as a preferred second home destination for many living in the heart of the city, has nearly four lakh voters.
In the 2014 state polls, BJP’s Medha Kulkarni defeated Shiv Sena’s Chandrakant Mokate by over 64,000 votes, while Kishore Shinde stood on the fourth position.
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