Ahead of Pune going to polls on Tuesday, the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance brought a caste angle into the contest on Friday, saying that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) denied a ticket to sitting member of Parliament (MP) Anil Shirole as he was a Maratha.
This suggests that the Congress-NCP were trying to polarise voters on caste lines. It is also an indirect admission that they were not planning to fight the battle on the issues concerning development, but the lack of it. However, this came in as a ready made handle for the BJP’s nominee Girish Bapat, to take on rival candidate from Congress, Mohan Joshi.
“The Congress-NCP tried to bring in a caste angle as there was nothing they could hold against us. It is their (rival candidate’s) admission that the BJP has developed the city,” said Bapat, as campaigning ended on Sunday evening.
With 100 per cent representation at the assembly level, solid control over the civic body and a sitting MP from the party, the BJP expects not just to retain the Pune constituency, but end Congress’ hopes of a revival. The Congress, although hampered by the absence of any prominent leaders, looks to come back by raising its voice against the BJP’s unfulfilled promises. Pune was once a Congress bastion. The expulsion of Suresh Kalmadi, a three-time MP, from the party and the NCP making inroads into suburban areas, made the Congress relatively weak. Congress leaders hope they will put up a strong fight in the urban constituency with a mix of Marathi and cosmopolitan population.
“Whatever work the BJP claims to have done was started during the Congress-NCP rule. Pune voters know this and will teach the BJP a lesson,” said Joshi, who got barely 20 days to campaign as the party delayed announcing his name. Support extended by the Aam Admi Party (AAP), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Communist Party of India (M) has strengthened Joshi’s position although a weak network of workers in the city remains a concern.
{{/usCountry}}“Whatever work the BJP claims to have done was started during the Congress-NCP rule. Pune voters know this and will teach the BJP a lesson,” said Joshi, who got barely 20 days to campaign as the party delayed announcing his name. Support extended by the Aam Admi Party (AAP), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Communist Party of India (M) has strengthened Joshi’s position although a weak network of workers in the city remains a concern.
{{/usCountry}}Through its achievements like the ongoing metro rail work, various initiatives under the Smart City programme and an approval for Purandar airport, the BJP is expecting the party to retain the seat , which is considered the second-most important city in the state after Mumbai, in terms of jobs.
Locals feel that while some projects have taken off, their woes will not come to an end soon. “Transport is one of the biggest issues we face every day. Neither the BJP nor the Congress has done anything to address it,” said Aman Rathi, who works with an information technology (IT) firm. Proper disposal of garbage, unemployment and water supply are other issues the city faces.
Based on a strong network of workers, the BJP hopes to retain the 2014 margin of 3.15 lakh votes this time. However, Joshi claims that the public’s response to his campaign during the past fortnight indicates a change in mood among voters.