As Maharashtra gears up for the upcoming state elections, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has demanded three of Pune’s eight assembly seats. Despite not having any sitting MLAs in Pune city, Shiv Sena’s Pune city president, Pramod Bhangire, emphasized that the party has made significant organizational strides in recent times.
Bhangire refuted media reports that claimed Shiv Sena had no stake in Pune’s assembly constituencies. “These reports are false. We have a legitimate claim to at least three seats in Pune city,” Bhangire stated. The party is specifically targeting the Hadapsar, Wadgaon Sheri, and Khadakwasla constituencies, with Bhangire himself eyeing the Hadapsar seat.
Historically, Shiv Sena has had a presence in Pune, with two MLAs representing the city in 2009 – one from Kothrud and one from Hadapsar. However, following the party’s split, Shiv Sena’s strength in Pune diminished. The upcoming elections will be a crucial test of the party’s ability to reclaim its influence in the city.
Currently, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dominates Pune with five of the eight seats. These include Parvati (represented by Madhuri Misal), Kothrud (Chandrakant Patil), Shivajinagar (Siddharth Shirole), Pune Cantonment (Sunil Kamble), and Khadakwasla (Bhimarao Tapkir). The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), now aligned with Ajit Pawar, holds two seats: Wadgaon Sheri (Sunil Tingre) and Hadapsar (Chetan Tupe). Congress controls the remaining Kasba constituency, represented by MLA Ravindra Dhangekar.
(With inputs from ANI)