Anil Shirole eyes term-II, Girish Bapat also in race for BJP ticket

PUNE: Sitting BJP MP Anil Shirole’s aspiration for a second consecutive term in the Lok Sabha from the city may not be a smooth affair with a section of the party willing to give district guardian minister Girish Bapat a chance at the Centre.
Senior BJP leaders said though a few days were left for the announcement of the election schedule, the party was still undecided about the candidature and had a “long list” of LS poll ticket aspirants from Pune.

Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Kakade was also in the race for the BJP ticket. Sources said Kakade appeared to be almost out of the race “with the party high command giving him a cold shoulder”.

A senior BJP leader said, “Shirole can be the obvious option for the BJP high command because of the record margin (3 lakh votes) with which he defeated his nearest Congress candidate in the 2014 LS polls. We will work to secure the BJP’s victory, irrespective of the leadership’s choice of candidate.”

Shirole admitted that he has expressed his desire to contest the coming election on the BJP ticket. “I got a chance to represent my party for the last five years in the Lok Sabha. I am looking forward to continue and take forward several ongoing central projects in the second term,” he said.

The sources said the BJP high command might not be able to rule out Bapat as a candidate. “Bapat has been active for almost three decades in the city’s politics and deserves an opportunity at the Centre. As Pune’s guardian minister for the last four years, Bapat has handled the city’s issues on priority. The city will get new projects if he gets elected,” a source said.

The sources added that though Kakade did not appear to be a front-runner any more, nobody should rule out the impact he could make on the result with the support of a sizeable numbers of corporators.

Kakade had played a pivotal role in ensuring the party’s best-ever performance in the 2017 civic elections by winning 97 seats. After failing to get any assurance of a ticket from the BJP leaders, Kakade had met several Congress and NCP leaders recently, a source said.