Why Congress and NCP are battling it out for Pune LS seat, and how Kalmadi still matters

NCP leaders maintain that the Congress has been weakened in Pune after Suresh Kalmadi’s suspension over corruption charges in the Commonwealth Games ‘scams’. The loss of Congress candidate Vishwajit Kadam in the 2014 elections, by a margin of over 3 lakh votes, was a clear indication of this. NCP leaders believe it was Kalmadi who used to make the difference for Congress in Pune.

“Pune seat is the gateway to western Maharashtra. The seat has a lot of political and historical significance. It is the nerve centre of politics in western Maharashtra. If the NCP gets to contest from Pune and is able to create a positive atmosphere, it will electrify the political climate in western Maharashtra,” one NCP leader said.

Echoing his views, Vandana Chavan, a Rajya Sabha MP from NCP, said her party now had more popular leaders in Pune. “The NCP has been demanding the Pune seat because after the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the party matched Congress in the assembly election and performed better than the Congress in the civic elections”.

“The NCP has several heavyweight leaders who can take on the BJP from Pune. The Congress has fewer leaders of that stature in the absence of Kalmadi. So, it makes sense that the NCP should get the seat,” she said.

But Chavan maintained that Congress and NCP would fight together in Pune, irrespective of whose candidate is finally chosen to contest. “Top leaders from both parties are holding discussions. If the Pune seat goes to the Congress, the NCP will work whole-heartedly for the Congress candidate. Similarly, we are confident that if the NCP contests from the Pune seat, the Congress will back us,” she said.

Congress spokesperson Ramesh Iyer said his party’s claim to Pune Lok Sabha seat must not be questioned. “It was the Congress, not NCP, which did well in the assembly elections held six months after the Lok Sabha elections in 2014,” he said.

In the 2014 assembly elections, the Congress and the NCP, political partners for decades contested separately from all the seats in Pune. While Congress candidates collectively polled 1,48,000 votes, NCP candidates secured 1,46,000 votes.

NCP leaders are quick to point out that the 2,000 vote difference meant there was little to choose between the two parties when it came to their support base. “The Congress managed 2,000 more votes but in the civic election held two years ago, the NCP got 39 seats while the Congress merely managed nine seats,” said the NCP leader.

The Congress fears that if the Pune seat also goes to the NCP, then the grand old party’s existence in Pune will be in jeopardy. The party has almost disappeared in Shirur, Maval and Baramati constituencies. In Pimpri-Chinchwad, where the Congress once had a stronghold, it does not have a single corporator today.

“The Congress has told us that in Pune, it needs at least one seat or else it will be finished. Similarly, we have only one seat in Mumbai, while five others are contested by the Congress,” said the NCP leader.

Iyer said it was a fact that Kalmadi is the tallest Congress leader in Pune and he can still energise the party, irrespective of whether he contests or not.”He has won the Pune seat thrice, each time with a comfortable margin… through Pune Vyaspeeth, Pune Festival and Pune Marathon and other events, he made the Congress very popular,” Iyer said.

He said a section of the party has been demanding that Kalmadi’s suspension should be withdrawn by the party as he has not been convicted in any of the cases.

City Congress president Ramesh Bagwe said it was up to the party high command to take a decision on whether to withdraw Kalmadi’s suspension. “The final decision rests with the party high command,” he said.