This is an archive article published on March 18, 2024
BJP insists on Maval seat, objects to Barne’s style of functioning
Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, BJP Maval youth wing chief Nitin Marathe said party leaders are upset with Shrirang Barne as he never took them into confidence while implementing projects.
Sitting Maval MP Shrirang Barne, who belongs to Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has found himself in trouble with the party’s allies BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP not in agreement when it comes to fielding him again from the seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. While the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has demanded that it should be allowed to contest from the seat, the BJP has objected to Barne’s style of functioning.
“We are mainly opposed to Barne’s style of functioning,” BJP Maval youth wing chief Nitin Marathe told The Indian Express. His reaction comes after two meetings held over the last two days by the Maval BJP unit.
At the first meeting, BJP leaders argued that if Barne is fielded, he will be defeated. “Not a single BJP worker will campaign for Barne if he is fielded… This was the common argument made by leaders at Saturday’s meeting,” said Marathe. “Most BJP leaders are upset with the MP as he never took us into confidence while implementing development projects or taking any initiatives or actions regarding the constituency,” he added.
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Ravindra Bhegde, BJP’s Maval taluka campaign chief, said, “We have been demanding that the BJP should get a chance to field its candidate from this seat… But whoever is fielded by the Mahayuti, we will work united for his victory. As far as the views expressed by party leaders and workers are concerned, they did so in their individual capacity.”
Shaken by the development, Shiv Sena leaders in Maval held a meeting with the BJP unit leaders on Sunday. “The Sena leaders conceded that the MP has made some mistakes and promised us that such things won’t happen in future. As of now, we have resolved to bury our differences but our objection to Barne’s style of functioning will continue,” Marathe said.
He added that they have conveyed their sentiments to top party leaders who have promised appropriate action.
Meanwhile, BJP’s Pune district spokesperson Raju Durge said, “We have been demanding that the Maval Lok Sabha seat should be given to the BJP. For three terms, the seat has been contested by the Shiv Sena candidate. We have worked hard for the Sena’s victory. In 2029, the delimitation exercise will take place and the constituency may not remain in its present form. Therefore, we demand that the BJP should at least get one chance to contest the seat.”
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Durge said the saffron party has strong candidates like Shankar Jagtap, Bala Bhegde and Prashant Thakur.
Earlier, Maval MLA Sunil Shelke, who belongs to the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, had demanded that his party should get the seat. Shelke said Barne has not made any contribution to the development of Maval constituency in his last two terms and hence the NCP should be given the chance to contest from the seat.
Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades.
Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives.
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