Close contests keep twin town on the edge

Another interesting battle is being played out in Sant Tukaram Nagar,which has 16,000 voters. Here,Mayor Yogesh Behl is taking on his long-term rival Yeshwant Bhosale,whom he has defeated twice. Both Behl and Bhosale belong to the NCP. Bhosale,who is putting in his might to avoid another defeat,says he would outdo Behl this time. “I will win by 900 votes,” he claims. The Mayor,however,remains unperturbed. “I will get half of the total votes polled. The rest will be divided among my rivals,” said Behl who is contesting for the fifth consecutive term. Other candidates in the fray are Rajaram Bhondve of Congress,Mohan Adsul of MNS and Rajesh Kulkarni of Shiv Sena.

Yet another tough battle is being witnessed in Yamunanagar Panel,where sitting Shiv Sena corporator Sulbha Ubale and another sitting corporator Shashikiran Gawli of the NCP have locked horns. Both Gawli and Ubale have gained repute for carrying out development work in the area. Sena leader Sarang Kamtekar says Ubale would outshine her rival because she has been aggressive in pushing for development of Yamunanagar. Ubale says she would make it to PCMC for the third time. “I have 11,000 votes in my favour while Gawli has 5,500,” she says.

In Krushnanagar,Gaurav Kadam,son of former mayor Mangala Kadam,has been fielded by the NCP for the first time. He is locked in a bitter battle with Sena’s Ajay Saykar,Amarkant Shinde of the Congress and Pradeep Sapkal of the MNS. Though there is resentment among NCP workers over his nomination,Mangala Kadam says her son would win hands down. “I have been handling my parents’ election campaign since 1992. I know the election process inside out,” says Gaurav. His mother is fighting from the neighbouring ward,which is considered a ‘safe seat’ for NCP.

In Kasarwadi,sitting corporator Eknath Mote’s nephew Kiran Mote is pitted against tough rivals like former corporators Shyam Lande and Vijay Lande,both Independents. The presence of Independents like Rajendra Shelkhe,Satish Landge,Prakash Jawalkar,Rajesh Mote and Anita Landge who have a strong base here has made the contest more interesting. Anita Landge,a known women’s activist,created quite a stir in Kasarwadi area when she started campaigning much before others. Congress has fielded Ramesh Landge. Nobody is ready to hazard a guess though. “The fight will be between Kiran Mote,Shyam Lande,Anita Landge and Rajendra Shelkhe,” say voters in the area.

A close fights is being witnessed between Amrut Parhad of BJP and Vasant Londhe of NCP in Chakra-Pani area of Bhosari. Parhad is a former corporator while Londhe is a sitting corporator. Parhad,who was defeated by Londhe in the last elections,says he will avenge the defeat.

Other key contests to watch out for are between Prashant Shitole of NCP,Chetan Shinde of Congress and Raju Salve of MNS in Sangvi Gaothan and between Independent candidate Maruti Bhapkar,Vijay Gupta of Shiv Sena,Ganesh Langote of Congress and Avinash Tekawde of NCP in Kalbhornagar.