Once the stronghold of Shiv Sena, the Shirur Lok Sabha constituency in Pune district switched to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 2019 when an actor-turned-politician Amol Kolhe won the polls ending the three-term rule of Shivajirao Adhalrao.
This time, the political equations have witnessed a see change with the NCP-led by Ajit Pawar contesting polls in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena while Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party– Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SCP) is going with the Congress and the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
In the seat-sharing talks of the ruling Mahayuti parties, likely to be finalised in the coming days, Shirur is likely to go with Ajit’s NCP. However, the challenge before the deputy chief minister is to identify a strong candidate who can take on Amol Kolhe, the sitting Member of Parliament (MP). While Ajit once had a strong base in the constituency, he has not been able to choose a candidate who is a popular face representing the region as the political clout of MLAs is limited to their areas.
There are speculations that Adhalrao will switch side from the Shiv Sena to the NCP and contest election against Kolhe. Adhalrao, a former NCP leader who switched to Sena in 2002, first won the Lok Sabha seat in 2004. He was reelected in 2009 and 2014.
{{/usCountry}}There are speculations that Adhalrao will switch side from the Shiv Sena to the NCP and contest election against Kolhe. Adhalrao, a former NCP leader who switched to Sena in 2002, first won the Lok Sabha seat in 2004. He was reelected in 2009 and 2014.
{{/usCountry}}Within the party after the split, Kolhe’s stature has increased even as Ajit is leaving no stone unturned to defeat him. It was Ajit who gave Kolhe the NCP ticket although the latter chose to side with senior Pawar during the July 2023 split.
Earlier this month, Ajit, while taking a dig at Kolhe, said that political parties field celebrities in elections if they find opposing candidates undefeatable. Kolhe is an actor-turned-politician known for playing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s role in TV shows and films.
Kolhe responded saying, “If film stars are of no use, why was I wooed into the party by Ajit Pawar.”
The constituency has a diverse demographic profile with majority in agricultural sector and rest in industrial area consisting of automobile and other firms. Three main Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporations (MIDC) Chakan, Ranjangaon and Bhosari falls in the constituency, and it also houses many global automobile and electronic companies.
Horticultural, vegetable and onion are the main crops in Shirur.
As the central government has recently banned onion export, it may have reflect in the polls as the constituency has large number of onion growers.
Kolhe said, “The Centre’s agricultural policies have badly affected farmers. Authorities promised to double agricultural income, but the on-ground outcome is the opposite since last few years leaving farmers unhappy.”
As far as the political canvas is concerned, there are six assembly constituencies falling under the Shirur Lok Sabha — Junnar, Ambegaon, Khed Alandi, Shirur, Bhosari and Hadapsar.
Except Bhosari MLA Mahesh Landge, all the five MLAs are from the NCP and currently with Ajit.