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Journalism of Courage
While Wadgaon Nagar Panchayat witnessed brisk polling, Lonavala and Talegaon municipal councils lagged behind. The nagar panchayat registered 73.33 per cent polling.
At most of the polling booths, long queues of voters could be seen. The maximum rush was seen at the polling station at New English school which was located along the Pune-Mumbai highway.
Wadgaon Nagar Panchayat witnessed polling for electing 17 councillors. There are in all 19,800 voters. “For the 17 seats of councillors, 45 candidates are in the fray,” said Sunil Dhore, who is contesting from prabhag number 11. Wadgaon Nagar Panchayat falls between Lonavala and Talegaon Municipal Councils. All the three are in Maval taluka of Pune district.
The main fight in Wadgaon Nagar Panchayat is between BJP which has fielded 17 candidates and NCP led by Ajit Pawar which has fielded 16 candidates.
In all, 11 independent candidates are in the fray. Of 11 independent candidates, 7 have extended support to different party candidates.
The key fights are taking place in prabhag 2 where there is a direct fight between NCP and Shiv Sena (Shinde group). In prabhag 3, there is a three-cornered contest between BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena (UBT). In prabhag number 5, there is a three-cornered contest between BJP, NCP and a rebel candidate of NCP. In prabhag number 6, NCP and BJP are locked in a direct contest. In prabhag number 7, NCP, BJP and an independent are fighting it out. In most of the prabhags, either it is a direct contest between NCP and BJP or a three-cornered contest because of a presence of an independent candidate, said Dhore.
The election of the Nagar Panchayat is held directly among all the 17 prabhags. Four candidates are vying for the post. The NCP has fielded Aboli Mayur Dhore while the BJP has fielded advocate Mrunal Gulabrao Mhalsakar. VBA has fielded Vaishali Pavan Udage while independent candidate Najmabi Altaf Shiakh are also in the fray for the council presidentship.
Independent candidates lamented that they were allotted symbols only on November 26 which affected their campaigning.
Local activists said getting clean and pure water has been a persistent demand of the voters in Wadgaon area. Besides, the citizens are upset with the constant traffic jams in market area. Residents of Keshavnagar also complain about absence of railway overbridge leading to them getting stranded at railway gates. Activists said roads in Wadgaon are narrow and bad shape besides there are no playgrounds for youngsters.
Talegaon Municipal Council
While Wadgaon voted to elect all the 17 councillors on Tuesday, in neighbouring Talegaon Municipal Council area, voting was held only for electing four councillors. This is because already 19 councillors out of 28 have been elected unopposed. Voting for six seats have been postponed to December 20. The counting will be held on December 21.
The unopposed election has triggered anger among the voters who contended that when even basic civic amenities are missing in Talegaon, how can parties play their political game to suit their convenience.
Political anaylst Vivek Inamdar said Talegaon had first seen Congress rule for consecutive terms till 1995 after that NCP and BJP have been ruling it. “In the last term, the BJP had won. This time, BJP and NCP are in alliance. Their fight is with rebel candidates. This time, NCP is first time fighting on its symbol. Both NCP and Congress had never fielded official candidates in Talegaon Municipal Council polls,” he said.
Of the 18 candidates elected unopposed, 10 belong to BJP while eight are from NCP. “Initially, 19 candidates were declared elected unopposed. However, one of the candidate unopposed election was cancelled and election was held for that seat as well. Therefore, today polling was held for four councillors and for the post of municipal council president’s post,” he said.
BJP has fielded Santosh Dabhade for the post of municipal president. He is facing challenge Kishore Bhegde as BJP rebel. Advocate Ranjana Bhosale, who is a former Congress leader, is fighting as independent.
Lonavala Municipal Council
In Lonavala Municipal Council, polling was held in 13 prabhags for electing 23 councillors. Till 5.30 pm, it registered 71.34 per centage polling.
Though LMC has 27 councillors, polling for two seats has been postponed while two councillors have been elected unopposed. Polling was also held for the post of council president. There are around 48,000 voters in LMC poll and 60 candidates in the fray.
LMC CEO Ashok Sable said, “The polling was smooth and glitch-free. There were hardly any complaints of missing names of voters. The polling ended around 6.45 pm. We had 63 polling booths at 29 polling stations.”
“The LMC is witnessing a three-cornered contest between BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena of Eknath Shinde. BJP ruled the LMC from 2016 to 2021,” said local activist Prashant Puranik.
Citizens here have been perennial traffic jams, especially during weekends when there is a huge inflow of tourists. Besides, citizens also grieve about narrow roads in the city area and the incomplete Bhangarwadi railway overbridge which affects their travel time.
