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Amit Shah will not participate in bypolls during Pune visit: BJP
The BJP plans to introduce a battery of senior leaders for campaigning purposes. Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari, chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will address public rallies in the runup to the bypolls, according to the party
PUNE: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday made it clear that though union home minister Amit Shah is slated to visit the city on February 18 and 19, he will not be participating in the Kasba peth and Chinchwad assembly bypolls. However, the BJP plans to introduce a battery of senior leaders for campaigning purposes. Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari, chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will address public rallies in the runup to the bypolls, according to the party.
The BJP city unit on Monday briefed the media about bypoll planning and how the BJP will win the Kasba peth assembly constituency. The party’s Parvati legislator Madhuri Misal, former mayor Murlidhar Mohol, city unit president Jagdish Mulik, and BJP candidate Hemant Rasne addressed the media. Mohol said, “There are various news reports that Shah will campaign for the bypolls but these are misguided. He is visiting the city but attending other events. The public rallies will be addressed by Gadkari, Shinde and Fadnavis.”
Recently, the Maha Vikas Agadhi (MVA) had taken a jibe at the BJP saying that the party could not help but invite the union home minister for the bypolls. Misal said, “We took the lead in the campaign. We held micro meetings and now, public rallies will begin in the last phase. Kasba peth is a BJP bastion and definitely, Rasne will win.” Whereas Mulik blamed the MVA for misguiding the voters on various issues. He claimed that the MVA had been garnering a poor response in Kasba peth. Among other issues, the BJP plans to focus on redeveloping old wadas in the central parts of Pune during the election campaign. Rasne said, “Old and dilapidated wadas are largely located in the old parts of the city. I have planned for it and will definitely work on the scheme to redevelop them. Like town-planning schemes on the outskirts of the city, we will frame town planning schemes for the old parts of the city.”
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Besides Pune, union home minister Amit Shah will also be visiting Kolhapur on February 19.
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