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Maharashtra assembly polls: 104 BJP aspirants seek BJP ticket in Pune
MLAs from all the seven constituencies except for Kasba peth segment made appearance at interviews and sought ticket for contesting the polls.
Post the Lok Sabha 2019 success of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the list of aspirants wanting to contest the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls from Pune swelled as 131 applicants appeared for interview. The number of hopefuls from Shivajinagar was highest at 31, while Parvati saw only four aspirants.
Senior BJP leader and Maharashtra minister for education Ashish Shelar held interviews of aspirants for state assembly polls from all eight constituencies in the city. The surge in the number of aspirants for interviews, as BJP leaders maintained, is due to enthusiasm in the party after its victory in Lok Sabha polls.
MLAs from all the seven constituencies except for Kasba peth segment made appearance at interviews and sought ticket for contesting the polls, likely to be held in October. In Kasba peth assembly segment, former legislator had resigned recently after he was elected to Lok Sabha
“The interviews have been conducted today and report will be submitted by Ashish Shelar to state screening committee within next few days,” said Pune BJP city unit chief Madhuri Misal, who represents Parvati.
Among those sought tickets include mayor Mukta Tilak and Bapat’s daughter-in-law Swarada Bapat for Kasba peth; Sandip Khardekar and Murlidhar Mohol for Kothrud; Shrinath Bhimale and Rajendra Shilimkar for Parvati. Both Medha Kulkarni and Madhuri Misal have sought ticket from their respective constituencies.
In Shivajinagar, many corporators and party leaders, including MLA Vijay Kale, are aspiring to contest polls while in Wadgaon Sheri only five, including MLA Jagdish Mulik, have sought ticket. In Khadakwasla, at least 12 aspirants, including Bhimrao Tapkir, sought ticket while in Hadapsar there were nine hopefuls, including Yogesh Tilekar.
“We are all efficient and the party will decide whom to give ticket,” said Khardekar, a hopeful.
While the BJP and Shiv Sena have maintained that they will join hands for the assembly polls, BJP’s Pune unit has laid its claim on all the eight seats in the city. In 2014, both parties had contested the polls separately though BJP won all the eight seats. With party having 100 per cent representation at assembly level and firmly in control of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), there is a feeling among members that the party will have a strong performance yet again. During Lok Sabha polls, BJP’s Girish Bapat won the Pune seas with a margin of over 3.5 lakh votes.
