When fielding Hemant Rasane for the Kasba peth by-poll, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had hoped that his close association with Ganesh mandals would work in favour of the party. However, his defeat proved otherwise with many small and medium mandals from the central parts of the city contributing to his rout.
Among the reasons why most of these Ganesh mandal workers tacitly worked in favour of Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar is Rasane’s association with part of the Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Trust. The prominent Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Trust-run Suvarnayug Tarun Mandal has been antagonising smaller mandals over the years due to the discriminatory treatment it gets during annual processions.
Sachin Alande, president of a Ganesh mandal in Shukrawar peth, said, “We have worked hard to get this win in Kasba, as for the last over 30 years, the BJP has been winning here. Dhangekar is one of us being a local volunteer ready to help everyone in any situation. Hence, this is a victory for the common people of Kasba.”
A trustee of another mandal requesting anonymity said, “We are not against Rasane who is a good leader. However, we thought it high time to show how our mandal can help elect Dhangekar.”
On Thursday when Dhangekar won the by-poll, many small mandals even celebrated his victory. While there were mixed emotions among supporters of both BJP and MVA outside the counting booths and across the city, the smaller mandals were seen celebrating in a big way in the evening.
{{/usCountry}}On Thursday when Dhangekar won the by-poll, many small mandals even celebrated his victory. While there were mixed emotions among supporters of both BJP and MVA outside the counting booths and across the city, the smaller mandals were seen celebrating in a big way in the evening.
{{/usCountry}}A MVA volunteer Kiran Pisal said, “Initially for the first five to ten rounds, we were worried despite having a lead in counting as the numbers could have changed in subsequent rounds. But when Dhangekar’s win became certain, all supporters and volunteers of MVA started celebrating outside the counting booth itself.”
Whereas Rasane supporter, Mandar Deodhar from Sadashiv peth, said, “The lead was initially fluctuating between Rasane and Dhangekar but as it became certain that Dhangekar was leading, our volunteers were disheartened. Most of them left the counting booth. We will certainly study what went wrong.”