‘Neki ka kam, Andekar ka naam’: Bandu Andekar files nomination papers for PMC polls

Accordingly, they were brought from the Yerwada Central Prison to the Bhavani Peth ward office of the Pune Municipal Corporation, with their faces covered and under police bandobast, on Saturday.

Even as the police tied a rope to Bandu Andekar, he raised his hand making a victory sign with his fingers. Then, walking through the ward office, he shouted slogans, “neki ka kam, Andekar ka naam (Andekar’s name means good work)” and “Andekarana mat, Vikasala mat (Vote for Andekar means vote for development)”. He also shouted that he is a candidate and not a gangster.

Andekar’s lawyer Amrapali Dhiwar said Bandu Andekar, Lakshmi and Sonali Andekar filed their nominations as independent candidates. However, Kalyani Pandhare, the election officer at the PMC’s Bhavani Peth ward office, said the nomination forms filed by the Andekars were incomplete and hence not accepted on Saturday. “There are three more days for submission of nomination forms. They can file nominations again during this period,” Pandhare said.

While the Andekar gang battled with rivals for supremacy in Pune over the years, the Andekar family entered politics around the 1990s. Police said that while Bandu allegedly handled the gang, his brothers Udaykant and Ramakant became corporators in the PMC. Vatsala Andekar alias Akka from the Andekar family became the mayor of Pune city in 1998. Also, Bandu’s wife Rajashree Andekar won the civic elections twice in 2007 and 2012. The Andekar family maintained an association with the Congress and the NCP. Vanraj, Bandu’s elder son, won the civic elections in 2017 on an NCP ticket.

Following a family feud, Vanraj Andekar was allegedly shot dead near his residence in Nana Peth in September last year. Bandu’s daughter Sanjivani Komkar, her husband Jayant, brother-in-law Ganesh Komkar and a rival Somnath Sayaji Gaikwad, were among those arrested for Vanraj’s murder. Ganesh Komkar is husband of Vanraj’s second daughter Kalyani Komkar.

Police said to avenge Vanraj’s death, Ganesh and Kalyani’s son Ayush Komkar was shot dead by two gunmen in Bhavani Peth on September 5 this year. Police arrested 16 people, including Bandu Andekar, his son Krushna, Lakshmi, Sonali, Swaraj Wadekar, and others, in the Ayush Komkar murder case.