Pune bypolls:BJP, MVA senior leadership come all guns blazing for campaign

With the Kasba peth and Chinchwad bypolls having become a matter of prestige for both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), senior leaders from either side are spending considerable time campaigning for these byelections

With the Kasba peth and Chinchwad bypolls having become a matter of prestige for both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), senior leaders from either side are spending considerable time campaigning for these byelections.

BJP leaders Murlidhar Mohol and Madhuri Misal recently met MNS leaders seeking their support. (HT PHOTO)

Senior BJP leaders including deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Chandrakant Patil are spending a lot of time in the two constituencies. Fadnavis has personally taken charge of the byelections and is visiting the city repeatedly. Last night, he met traders and businessmen and held several other meetings that lasted for more than seven hours. The party has pulled out all stops, including seeking support from other political outfits such as the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Republican Party of India (RPI) and Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena. Union minister Nitin Gadkari, Patil, Bawankule and Girish Mahajan have also been invited to participate in the bypoll campaign.

On the other hand, the MVA too has increased coordination amongst its constituents. Uddhav Thackeray Shiv Sena leader Aditya Thackeray, who had campaigned in the Kasba peth and Chinchwad constituencies, will be revisiting the city for the Kasba peth bypoll campaign. Senior leaders such as Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP’s) Ajit Pawar; Congress’s Nana Patole, Balasaheb Thorat and Amit Deshmukh; and Uddhav Thackeray Shiv Sena’s Sushma Andhare and Aditya Thackeray will be campaigning for the Kasba peth and Chinchwad bypolls.

Both camps are spending considerable time campaigning for the bypolls as the results will impact the upcoming civic polls. While Kasba peth is traditionally a BJP stronghold, the party is taking extra care to retain the seat. Fadnavis said, “The BJP used to contest every election seriously and do whatever needed for every election. Both Kasba peth and Chinchwad are our constituencies and this time, we will definitely win.”

Whereas Ajit Pawar said, “If all party workers work hard, it is possible to win in the Kasba peth constituency.”