Pune Lok Sabha seat: BJP and Cong come out blazing all guns, field star campaigners to woo voters

The presence of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) candidate Vasant More, however, might upset the calculations of the two major parties.

Written by Ajay Jadhav

Pune | Updated: May 13, 2024 11:12 AM IST

2 min read

The BJP has fielded former mayor Murlidhar Mohol (left) while the Congress has pitted legislator Ravindra Dhangekar (right) from the Pune seat.

Considered to be almost a straight fight between the BJP and the Congress, both the national parties have made the contest for the Pune Lok Sabha seat a prestige issue. The BJP is trying its best to retain the seat it won in the previous two editions, while the Congress is pulling out all stops to regain its former bastion.

After the death of its sitting Pune MP Girish Bapat, the BJP has fielded former mayor Murlidhar Mohol this time. Whereas the Congress has pitted legislator Ravindra Dhangekar, a popular face who defeated the BJP in the Kasba assembly bypoll last year.

The BJP roped in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Road Minister Nitin Gadkari, state leader Devendra Fadnavis for the election campaign along with the leaders of its allies including MNS chief Raj Thackeray, Ramdas Athawale, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

On the other hand, the Congress campaign saw the participation of Rahul Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and state leaders Prithviraj Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat. Alliance partners Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, Aditya Thackeray, and Sanjay Raut also campaigned for Dhangekar.

But the battle for Pune initially got overshadowed by the fierce campaigning in adjoining Baramati that went for voting on May 7. The voting for Pune will be held on Monday.

The presence of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) candidate Vasant More, however, might upset the calculations of the two major parties.

Ajay Jadhav

Ajay Jadhav is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, Pune. He writes on Infrastructure, Politics, Civic issues, Sustainable Development and related stuff. He is a trekker and a sports enthusiast. Ajay has written research articles on the Conservancy staff that created a nationwide impact in framing policy to improve the condition of workers handling waste. Ajay has been consistently writing on politics and infrastructure. He brought to light the lack of basic infrastructure of school and hospital in the hometown of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde even as two private helipads were developed by the leader who mostly commutes from Mumbai to Satara in helicopter. Ajay has been reporting on sustainable development initiatives that protects the environment while ensuring infrastructure development. ... Read More

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Lok Sabha Elections 2024 pune