Fight in Kasba Peth bypoll is not between Rasane and Dhangekar but between BJP and Congress

Pune : NpNews24 Online  –  Pune Kasba Peth Bypoll Election | The BJP’s Hemant Rasane and Congress’ Ravindra Dhangekar are the main rivals in the Kasba Peth assembly segment bypoll, which is a BJP fortress. The tussle is intensifying as the poll date is nearing. The big leaders of both the parties are taking part in the campaign from Monday. State Minister Chandrakant Patil has said that the fight is not between Rasane and Dhangekar but it is between the BJP and the Congress. (Pune Kasba Peth Bypoll Election)

Addressing the media, Patil said, “The Kasba Pet bypoll fight is not between Rasane and Dhangekar but between the BJP and the Congress. It is not a civic election. It is an assembly bye-election. It is the election for the state legislature, where laws are made and policies are formed. Therefore, this bypoll is between the BJP and the Congress. The MVA has no presence in Kasba Peth. Its other constituents have left the Congress in the lurch.

Patil added that the situation was not different in the MVA government that lasted 33 months. The Congress had no say in the government. The remaining two partners used to run the government. Now, these two parties are not concerned about Dhangekar as he is the Congress candidate.

If the Congress was decimated in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections by the BJP, how will it survive at the local level?, he quipped.

The constituency
Both the parties had fielded candidates from the sizable Brahmin and Maratha communities in the past. However, the other backward classes (OBCs) outnumber these two castes in the Kasba Peth segment. Hence, both the parties have fielded OBC candidates. Party machineries from the rival camps have strongly stood behind both main rivals.

Star campaigners
The BJP has made the bypoll a prestigious fight after the MVA fielded Dhangekar from the segment. CM Eknath Shinde, DCM Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, BJP State Chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule and other stalwarts will campaign for Hemant Rasane. Moreover, the BJP is trying to persuade MNS President Raj Thackeray to campaign for them. The MVA leaders such as MPPC Chief Nana Patole, Opposition Leader Ajit Pawar, former CMs Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan and Sushilkumar Shinde, Aaditya Thackeray among other big leaders will hold rallies in Kasba Peth.

Women outnumber men
The final voters’ list of the segment was published by the District Election Branch on January 5. This list will be used for the bypoll. There are 2,75,428 voters in the constituency. Over 15,000 voters have increased as compared to the 2019 election. There are 1,36,873 male voters, 1,38,550 female voters and five transgender voters in the constituency.

Know the segment
The Kasba Peth assembly segment is a part of the Pune Lok Sabha constituency. The assembly constituency comprises Kasba Peth, Shaniwar Peth, Narayan Peth, Sadashiv Peth, Budhwar Peth, Rasta Peth, and Bhawani Peth. The oldest markets of the city such as Laxmi Road and Tulshibaug fall under this segment. In some parts, Dalits and Muslims dwell while trading communities are also present here. BJP’s Girish Bapat was getting elected from the constituency from 1995. Bapat became an MP in the 2019 LS elections. Later, Mukta Tilak was elected from the assembly segment.

BJP using all its might

It is said that since the BJP did not field a Brahmin candidate, community members are not happy with the party. The BJP leadership has been spending considerable time in placating local Brahmin leaders from the party. Ailing Girish Bapat guided party workers after Fadnavis met him at his residence. The party is pulling out all stops to win this election.

BJP readying party machinery to retain bastion
The Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena (UBT) are putting a united front. They have put their strength behind Dhangekar from the Congress. The BJP is trying to retain its fortress with all its might. If the BJP is defeated in the bypoll, it will have repercussions in the civic elections. Moreover, its image will be dented after losing its bastion. Hence, the BJP is preparing for the bypoll on a war footing.

Number of voters in Kasba Peth segment: 2,75,428

Party-wise position from Kasba Peth in PMC:

Total corporators: 18

BJP – 13

Congress – 2

NCP – 2

Shiv Sena – 1

2019 Assembly poll results:

Mukta Tilak (BJP)- 75,492

Arvind Shinde (Congress) – 47,296

Vishal Dhanwade (Ind) – 13,989

Ajay Shinde (MNS) 8,284

2014 Assembly results:

Girish Bapat (BJP) – 73,594

Rohit Tilak (Cong) – 31,322

Ravindra Dhangekar (MNS) – 25,998

Deepak Mankar (NCP) – 15,865

Suryakant Andekar (Ind) – 10,001

Prashant Badhe (Shiv Sena) – 9,203

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