Kasba Pimpri Chinchwad bypolls: Polling officers carrying EVMs and other election material leave for the Kasba Assembly constituency polling booths, at a distribution centre in Ganesh Kala Krida Manch, Swargate on Saturday. (Express photo by Pavan Khengre)Pune News Live Updates, February 25, 2023: As the Chinchwad Assembly constituency goes for by-polls on Sunday, candidates are hoping for a better voter turnout this time compared to the previous elections. A bigger turnout, believe candidates, will give them a better margin of victory while a lower turnout will make the battle a closely fought one. The Chinchwad seat is witnessing a three-cornered contest between BJP leader Ashwini Jagtap, NCP leader Nana Kate and Independent candidate Rahul Kalate as 28 independents are contesting the elections.
While the fight is three-cornered in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Kasba will witness a face-off between the state’s ruling and opposition alliances- BJP-Shiv Sena and Maha Vikas Aghadi- ahead of the Lok Sabha elections this year. Kasba has been a BJP bastion for years with the current Lok Sabha MP Girish Bapat winning from the constituency five times. The Congress, the alliance partner of Shiv Sena(UBT) and NCP in MVA is posing a tough challenge by fielding Ravindra Dhangekar as a candidate opposite BJP’s Hemant Rasane.
A day prior to the elections, the Congress candidate for the Kasba bypolls, Ravindra Dhangekar, sat on a hunger strike after alleging that the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is using money and muscle power to win the polls and ended it later in the day after senior officers from Pune Police promised an investigation into the allegations levelled by him. Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis also caused a disturbance in the Maharahtra politics after revealing that he was offered the chief minister’s post by the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray during the rebellion by the Eknath Shinde-led faction in June 2022.
In two hours, 500 vote at Killbill school polling station in Pimple Gurav. As the Chinchwad Assembly constituency goes for by-polls on Sunday, candidates are hoping for a better voter turnout this time compared to the previous elections. A bigger turnout, believe candidates, will give them a better margin of victory while a lower turnout will make the battle a closely fought one. The Chinchwad seat is witnessing a three-cornered contest between BJP leader Ashwini Jagtap, NCP leader Nana Kate and Independent candidate Rahul Kalate as 28 independents are contesting the elections.
The Kasba bypoll has gained prominence in the backdrop of the split in the Shiv Sena ranks following a rebellion led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the subsequent fall of the MVA government headed by Uddhav Thackeray. The Kasba bypoll was necessitated due to the death of sitting BJP legislator Mukta Tilak, a member of the family of freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak. Though the BJP had sought an unopposed election as a tribute to Mukta Tilak, the MVA refused. The Kasba Assembly has been a BJP bastion for long with Girish Bapat getting elected to the Legislative Assembly on five consecutive occasions. However, with MVA fielding experienced Ravindra Dhangekar, the fight between BJP candidate Hemant Rasane and MVA candidate Ravindra Dhangekar will decide who secures the seat in Kasba.
BJP candidate Ashwini Jagtap cast her vote in Pimpri today. Wife of deceased BJP MLA Laxman Jagtap, Ashwini Jagtap secured candidature over Laxman Jagtap’s brother Shankar, who was also an aspirant. The main contest in the Chinchwad seat is between BJP candidate Ashwini Jagtap, NCP candidate Nana Kate and Independent candidate Rahul Kalate. During campaigning Ashwini Jagtap had tried to strike an emotional chord with the voters. “The Chinchwad constituency was very close to the heart of my husband. The entire constituency was like his family. He rarely bothered about his own family but he spent hours working for the people of this constituency,” she said at every meeting and interaction with voters.
Voting has started in Pimple Saudagar for the Pimpri Chinchwad bypolls today. Pimpri-Chinchwad witnesses a pariticipation of 28 independent candidates but the fight for the seat is battle between BJP leader Ashwini Jagtap, NCP leader Nana Kate and Independent candidate Rahul Kalate.
Pune’s queer community can now look forward to hosting their events or hanging out at Stories-Queer Café, which declared itself as an ‘LGBTQ safe space’ on Saturday. Shyam Konnur, founder of the newly opened queer café on the South Main Road of Koregaon park, said he and his staff are committed to provide a safe space for the community to hold their events or get-togethers. Read More
Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar ended his hunger strike after senior officers from Pune Police met him and other agitators and promised an investigation in the allegations levelled. Express Photo By Pavan Khengre,25.02.23,Pune.
The Congress candidate for the Kasba bypolls, Ravindra Dhangekar, Saturday alleged that the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is using money and muscle power to win the polls and sat on a hunger strike a day before the scheduled polling on Sunday. Read More
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A day after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis revealed that he was offered the chief minister’s post by the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray during the rebellion by the Eknath Shinde-led faction in June 2022, Sena MP Sanjay Raut said Fadnavis was trying to create “sensationalism” and “confusion” among the people.
During an interview with Zee News, a Maratha news channel, when asked whether Uddhav Thackeray had contacted him, urged him to forget the past and said they were ready to join hands with the BJP, Fadnavis said, “Yes, I was contacted… But I replied that we have moved forward. I was told that whatever has happened has happened, now you become the chief minister. I made it clear that that moment had passed… I am not the one who will betray… Now these people (Shinde rebels) had come with us and we cannot ditch them. When they have rebelled and joined hands with us, we cannot betray them… This cannot be part of our politics. And that is why I refused it…” Read more
In what has turned into a prestige battle between the ruling and Opposition alliances in Maharashtra, the Kasba bypoll has become a platform for the BJP-Shiv Sena and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to show their strength ahead of the general elections next year.
The Congress, the alliance partner of NCP and Shiv Sena (UBT), however, has posed a tough challenge by fielding Ravindra Dhangekar against BJP’s Hemant Rasane. Read more
20 delegates from African countries attended an orientation meeting in Pune on Saturday for planning and conduct of Africa India Field Training Exercise AFINDEX-23 which is slated to take place at Southern Command Foreign Training Node and College of Military Engineering in the city between March 21 and 30. The exercise will focus on Humanitarian Mine Assistance and United Nations Peacekeeping Operations. Read more
Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis visited Pune to campaign on the last te for Kasba BJP candidate, Hemant Rasane, before the Kasba and Pimpri Chinchwad bypolls on February 26. Fadnavis tweeted out more about the work undertaken by BJP in Pune ,'Our government is working to change the face of Pune. Metro, Ring Road, Rivers, Electric Buses, Airport, Redevelopment of Peths, Development of Wadi.. A transformation. We are moving towards creating a modern and international city while preserving the culture and identity of Pune.'
Known for his love for racing horses and fancy cars, the once-flamboyant businessman, Hasan Ali Khan, spent the last six years of life battling multiple illnesses and several cases filed against him by various central agencies including the ED, Central Bureau of Investigation, Income Tax Department and police entities. Khan, who died on Thursday at the age of 71, received no closure, legal or emotional, till his death, said people close to his family. His longtime lawyer Prashant Patil said Khan was in Hyderabad to visit his parents’ grave when he passed away late Thursday night. Read more