Hadapsar seat: Same BJP, NCP & MNS candidates, but 2 leaders have alliance support this time

The three leaders had contested against each other in the 2014 polls — when all four major parties in the state fought the Assembly polls separately — and Tilekar had beaten both Tupe and More. This time, Tupe is banking on the collective support of Congress and NCP voters. His father, Vithal Tupe, had been elected as Pune Lok Sabha MP in the past, and Tupe is hopeful about garnering the votes of his father’s supporters.

Tupe, who has also been leading the NCP in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), feels that he has a connect with the youth in the constituency.

More, one of the only two corporators of the MNS who managed to get elected to the PMC when most of the party’s sitting corporators had to face defeat in the 2017 civic polls, is counting on his contacts in the constituency.
Tilekar is relying heavily on the current popularity of the BJP and its senior leaders. He is also hopeful about support from local Sena leaders and their supporters.

The constituency stretches over Keshavnagar and Mudhwa in one corner to Katraj-Santoshnagar on the other end. Kondhwa, Salunke Vihar and Mohammedwadi are the other key areas. It comprises a large number of voters from newly-developed areas, including the townships of Magarpatta and Amonora Park, which also house information technology companies.

The major issues in the area include traffic congestion, as the Pune-Solapur highway passes through it, and the PMC tried to fix the problem by introducing the Bus Rapid Transit System to improve the public transport system. Hadapsar also has a dumping ground, where the sizeable amount of waste generated in the city was dumped for a long time.

Pankaj Gope, a resident of Sayad Nagar in Hadapsar, said the roads in the area were in poor condition and riddled with potholes.

Another resident, Shaikh Akbar, said poor public transport system and lack of connectivity were also major issues. Local residents have to consider factors such as bad roads, traffic jams and infrequent bus service while commuting, he said.

Dr Antonia Mendonca, a resident of Lullanagar in Kondhwa, pointed out the mismanagement of waste in the area. While there was a functional system to collect waste from housing societies and colonies, there was a need to carry out cleanliness activities in surrounding areas, she said.

Another resident of Kondhwa, Col P Dasgupta, also mentioned the poor management of waste.

Kartik Kalal, who has lived in Mundhwa for the last seven years, said most housing societies in the area received their water supply solely from water tankers.

Many parts of the constituency face water shortage, and the problem has persisted over the years.