Congress may finalize candidate for Pune seat next week
Sarang Dastane | TNN | Updated: Mar 10, 2019, 09:13 IST
Representative imagePUNE: The Congress workers in the city expect the announcement of the party’s candidate for the Pune Lok Sabha seat next week.
After failing to zero in on a single contender, the names of probable contenders have been referred to the central election committee of the Congress. It is expected to hold a series of meetings in the next three days to finalize the candidate for the Pune and other Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.
A source in the party said the central committee had received single recommendations for some seats in Maharashtra, but more than four names were under consideration for the Pune seat. Multiple options could delay the announcement of candidature, he added.
Besides the city congress leaders Mohan Joshi, Abhay Chhajed, Balasaheb Shivarkar and Arvind Shinde, Maratha leader Pravin Gaikwad and BJP MP Sanjay Kakade are in the race to contest the election on the Congress ticket. Sources said the aspirants held separate meetings with senior leaders in Mumbai and Delhi in the past two days to ensure their candidature.
Also, the Congress will have to take into confidence the NCP leaders because the party has a strong vote share in the city.
An aspirant from the Congress said, “We have learnt that the party’s central committee will be meeting on Monday and the day after. We have suggested the party high command to give preference to those who are loyal to the party and have been working in the city for a long time. ‘Outsiders’ should not be given a chance to fight on the party’s ticket.”
Several party workers consider Gaikwad and Kakade as outsiders. A senior leader wondered why the high command would go for outsiders when there were aspirants within the party.
“Both the outsiders are not members of the Congress. Giving the party ticket to them would send a wrong signal,” he said.
Political observers said Gaikwad could attract the Maratha votes. Kakade would be able to make a dent in the BJP’s vote base because he had a significant following in the party, they stressed.
In the 2014 elections, BJP’s Anil Shirole defeated Congress candidate Vishwajeet Kadam.
After failing to zero in on a single contender, the names of probable contenders have been referred to the central election committee of the Congress. It is expected to hold a series of meetings in the next three days to finalize the candidate for the Pune and other Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.
A source in the party said the central committee had received single recommendations for some seats in Maharashtra, but more than four names were under consideration for the Pune seat. Multiple options could delay the announcement of candidature, he added.
Besides the city congress leaders Mohan Joshi, Abhay Chhajed, Balasaheb Shivarkar and Arvind Shinde, Maratha leader Pravin Gaikwad and BJP MP Sanjay Kakade are in the race to contest the election on the Congress ticket. Sources said the aspirants held separate meetings with senior leaders in Mumbai and Delhi in the past two days to ensure their candidature.
Also, the Congress will have to take into confidence the NCP leaders because the party has a strong vote share in the city.
An aspirant from the Congress said, “We have learnt that the party’s central committee will be meeting on Monday and the day after. We have suggested the party high command to give preference to those who are loyal to the party and have been working in the city for a long time. ‘Outsiders’ should not be given a chance to fight on the party’s ticket.”
Several party workers consider Gaikwad and Kakade as outsiders. A senior leader wondered why the high command would go for outsiders when there were aspirants within the party.
“Both the outsiders are not members of the Congress. Giving the party ticket to them would send a wrong signal,” he said.
Political observers said Gaikwad could attract the Maratha votes. Kakade would be able to make a dent in the BJP’s vote base because he had a significant following in the party, they stressed.
In the 2014 elections, BJP’s Anil Shirole defeated Congress candidate Vishwajeet Kadam.
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