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Ajit Pawar hints at MVA’s willingness to contest bypolls
The election commission during this week announced bypolls will be held in both constituencies on February 27 and counting will take place on March 2
Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar, while speaking in Pune on Saturday, has suggested that there are slim prospects of getting elected unopposed in upcoming bypolls at Kasba Peth and Chinchwad assembly constituencies.
The election commission during this week announced bypolls will be held in both constituencies on February 27 and counting will take place on March 2. The polls were necessitated at Kasba Peth and Chinchwad assembly segments due to the demise of sitting MLAs Mukta Tilak and Laxman Jagtap.
On being asked if Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will contest the polls, Pawar, who is leader of opposition, said, “MVA is considering running in the elections, and a meeting has been planned for next week.”
“At both places, there is a proposal to contest the polls and therefore in the current situation, it looks like elections will happen,” said Pawar. When asked if there is any possibility of electing the candidate unopposed, Pawar said, “Looking at the current situation I doubt it.”
NCP leader Ajit Gavhane said, “In view of upcoming civic polls in Pimpri-Chinchwad, we have urged Pawar to field party candidate in Chinchwad bypolls.”
Within Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), two members are being considered from Jagtap family for contesting polls. If the BJP fields Laxman Jagtap’s wife Ashwini, chances are she will be elected unopposed while if Laxman Jagtap’s brother Shankar gets a ticket, NCP may prefer to field its own leader, prompting elections, said sources from MVA.
At Kasba Peth, the Tilak family members including the husband of late MLA Shailesh Tilak and his son Kunal have expressed inclination for contesting polls. Within BJP, there is a race for a ticket besides Tilak family members. There are already three aspiring members within Kasba Peth in BJP which include Hemant Rasne, Ganesh Bidkar and Dheeraj Ghate. Even other BJP leaders are willing to contest polls.
While Kasba Peth has been with Congress, Chinchwad is with NCP. In the past, there have been instances in Maharashtra, where elections were avoided when members of the same family which lost MLA, were fielded.
