BJP withdrew the nomination of Pooja More-Jadhav as a candidate for the Pune civic body elections on Thursday amid vehement protests from party workers. She had already received her AB form — under the quota of ally RPI — but faced censure as her old comments against Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis went viral. The resurfaced videos show More making personal remarks against the CM and his wife while the Maratha quota stir was underway.
Pune is among 29 cities and towns where elections for municipal corporations will be held on January 15. Forms A and B are essential documents under which a political party declares a particular nominee as its candidate in polls.
BJP cancels nomination
Union minister and Pune BJP MP Murlidhar Mohol confirmed that her nomination has been withdrawn. But the local leader has claimed the comments were being misattributed to her by trolls — insisting that “some other girl” made the remark.
“They spread misinformation about me and tried to portray that I do not believe in the BJP’s ideology. Considering the trolling, I made a conscious decision to withdraw my nomination,” More said.
“My daughter dedicated herself to society. She went to Kashmir and did relief work. She did not say anything personal against the Chief Minister. We have no political background. The Chief Minister should take action against the trolls,” ABP Majha quoted her father as saying.
Sena candidate swallows AB forms of his rival
A Shiv Sena candidate was booked for tearing up and ‘eating’ the AB forms of his rival nominee ahead of the Pune civic body polls. Police officials said Sena contestant Uddhav Kamble had made the bizarre choice after his party issued the document for two separate candidates in one ward. This had led to a heated argument between Machhindra Dhawale. Amidst the spat Kamble had allegedly snatched away the AB forms given to his rival, torn it into shreds and swallowed the pieces.
“A case has been registered for obstructing a public servant while he was performing official duties during the election process. We are investigating the matter further,” the police said.