How Kasba changed its mind within a year and voted for Mohol
The BJP leaders said, after polls last year, they focussed extra on Kasba Peth, which had always favoured the saffron party for the past three decades
In March 2023, Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar made history in the Kasba assembly by-polls by defeating BJP’s Hemant Rasane on a saffron stronghold for 30 years.
However, a year later, the voters in the assembly returned to the BJP, giving BJP’s Murlidhar Mohol a lead over Dhangekar in the Lok Sabha elections.
According to the final results declared on Tuesday, Mohol received 87,565 votes from Kasba as compared to 73,082 votes garnered by Dhangekar. As a result, the BJP candidate got a lead of 14,483 votes in the Kasba Peth assembly segment which is spread over central parts of Pune and largely comprises various Peths and commercial areas.
The BJP leaders said, after polls last year, they focussed extra on Kasba Peth, which had always favoured the saffron party for the past three decades.
“This time, we reached out to maximum voters personally during the campaign while at the same time convincing them that it is a national election and their vote for Mohol means voting for Modi,” said the leader.
Even as Mohol hails from Kothrud, he launched his campaign from Kasba Peth by taking the darshan of the famous Kasba Ganpati.
At the same time, party workers maintained better coordination on the polling day and ensured there was higher polling from the central parts, particularly in areas considered supportive of the BJP.
“We saw BJP workers coming to our home several times during the campaign. The candidate too visited our society,” said Asha Deshpande, a resident of Sadashiv Peth.
“It was a national election and not the local or assembly polls. We wanted to see Modi as Prime Minister,” said Abhijit Divse, another voter.
On the other hand, Dhangekar focused more on the Kothrud area where he was hoping for better performance. However, Kothrud, also known to be the stronghold of the BJP, sided with Mohol.