Lok Sabha elections 2019: Grassroots key for Congress’ Pune candidate Joshi
Mohan Joshi, the Congress Lok Sabha candidate for Pune, who is a regular visitor to kattas (gathering of residents) across the city, says he is banking on his personal connect with each voter to win the elections.
Mohan Joshi, the Congress Lok Sabha candidate for Pune, has been a grassroots worker of the party since decades and he, now, has various organisational and constitutional capacities in the city as well as the state. He has previously headed the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) as state general secretary. He is also the president of the Maharashtra state branch of all India Harijan Sevak Sangh founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1932.
Pune Lok Sabha seat, for which Joshi is the Congress candidate, will go to polls on April 23.
His daily schedule for the poll campaign is being managed by the NSUI (National Students Union of India) city president Nilesh Borate and Sandesh Singalkar, general secretary and the party spokesperson in Nagpur, who is currently in the city. Both, along with Joshi’s long-time associate Nandi Bansode accompany Joshi in his Toyota Innova car throughout the campaign trail.
Bansode, who has been associated with the Congress leader since 1998, says, “The personal connect of Dada (Joshi is called ‘Dada’ by those close to him) in the city is undisputed. He is the person who is the ‘go to man’ for thousands of party workers in the city. I have never seen Dada refusing to help a person in the past 10 years. Dada is a foodie and always ensures that the party workers campaigning with him eat first.”
8 am, Sarasbaug Ganpati temple
Joshi reaches the Sarasbaug Ganpati temple to interact with his old friends and other residents of the area. He seeks the blessings of Lord Ganesh, has tea and poha with friends and supporters and greets passers-by. “Unlike many politicians who come at such kattas (gathering joint) only during election campaigns, I am a regular at such places. That is the best possible way to understand the problems and sentiments of the residents,” he says.
His plan on April 17 was to hold road shows in Baner and Balewadi. He moves around in a brand new Toyota Innova with flags of the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) fluttering and a big poster of the Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
10 am to 12 30 pm, Community reach
Joshi joins a huge congregation of Jains to celebrate Mahavir Jayanti. “It has been over a decade that I participated in this wonderful celebration. Not even once in the last 10 years, have I missed any of these rallies. I know almost everyone who participates in this rally. It is this personal connect with each of them, which I am banking on to win the elections,” said Joshi.
1 pm, Road show in western Pune
More than five cars and at least 100 bikes accompany Joshi on his road show from Pashan to Balewadi village. Unmindful of the heat, hundreds of people turn up to wave at Joshi with the slogan, “Pune Ki Khushi, Mohan Joshi”. Reminiscing his early days in politics as the youth leader, Joshi said, “My political journey in the city started when I became the head of Pune Youth Congress in 1980. My only goal then was to strengthen the party at the grassroots level. We used to either walk on these internal roads of the city with the flexes of our party or use the bicycle to reach people.” Soon, he developed a personal connect with many of them who are now his loyal voters.
2 30 pm, Lunch at a party worker’s home
Joshi opted for two idlis and a sambar wada for lunch. He avoids eating anything sweet. Confident of winning the polls, he says he does not underestimate his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rival, Girish Bapat’s strength. “I have designed my campaign strategy keeping him in mind. People in the city are not satisfied by the work he (Bapat) has done in his tenure,” says Joshi.
3 30 pm, Visit to a blood donation camp
Joshi visited a blood donation camp at Lohiyanagar, which was organised by Jain groups on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti.
5 pm, Road show in Kasba assembly segment
Joshi also held a road show in Kasba assembly segment, which is represented by Girish Bapat.
7pm to 9 pm, Meetings
Joshi met with a few worker unions representatives and also went to the Maratha Sewa Sangh. He met people from the unorganised sector at a programme, Asanghatit Kamgar Melava, where he appealed to the people to vote for him with a promise to work towards resolving their issues.
“We get to sleep only for 3-4 hours since the last 10 days as our day starts at 7-8 am and the work goes on till 2 am. After the last programme at Maratha Sewa Sangh, I will go to the Congress Bhavan where all the key leaders of the Congress party from the city gather and discuss the next day’s schedule and the ongoing preparations for the elections,” he says.