Lok Sabha elections: Why Shirur & Maval pose a headache for NCP

Sharad Pawar’s party holds two seats in Pune district and has a claim on another. In Baramati, from where Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule has been winning for the last 15 years, she is the automatic choice, NCP sources said. But Shirur and Maval are different stories altogether.

In Shirur, popular Marathi actor and NCP nominee Amol Kolhe had snatched the seat from Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil in the 2019 elections. However, three years later, things have changed dramatically as Kolhe has veered towards BJP leaders, especially Devendra Fadnavis, and has kept a distance from NCP, rarely attending party meetings.

When NCP chief Sharad Pawar resigned as party chief triggering an upheaval in the party, Kolhe was acting in his play. Last year, he was also dropped as a star campaigner from the Gujarat polls by the NCP. It had come as a blow to the actor, who draws a huge crowd wherever he campaigns for the party.

Amid rumours that he would join BJP following his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi last year, Kolhe had refused to comment, only cryptically saying, “I am not an astrologer to predict the future…”.

Earlier this month, Kolhe was in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Asked about his proximity to BJP and whether he intended to join the party, Kolhe said he will speak about it on May 17. Since then, he has chosen to keep mum on the subject.

NCP sources say that if Kolhe refuses to contest, they will have to search for another candidate to take on a challenge from Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil, who is gearing up to contest for the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. “I am once again preparing to contest from Shirur seat,” Adhalrao told The Indian Express. Adhalrao had won the seat with big margins on three consecutive occasions before he was defeated by Kolhe in the 2019 elections.

In Maval too, the NCP has a problem. The party has contested the seat since 2009, when it came into being, but has never won. It was the undivided Shiv Sena, which was in alliance with BJP till 2019, that won the seat from 2009. Gajanan Babar won it first and Shrirang Barne, twice.

In the 2019 elections, NCP leader Ajit Pawar’s son Parth contested from Maval and lost by a big margin. His lack of visibility among the masses much before the election and limited connect with the voters went against him, NCP leaders said.

Until last year, Parth was gearing up to contest from Maval again. “Come what may, I will contest from Maval again…,’ Parth had said. However, since then, Parth has hardly been seen in the constituency, either attending events, functions or holding party rallies. When contacted, Parth said he will announce his decision at a later stage.

If Parth refuses to contest, NCP sources said they have an option in Maval MLA Sunil Shelke, who is considered a strong candidate to defeat Barne. Shelke, who is close to Ajit Pawar, is from the Maval area while Barne is from Pimpri-Chinchwad. The industrial city is part of the Maval seat. Shelke was with the BJP earlier and has a good connect with BJP leaders and workers.

It is not just about picking a candidate. The NCP will also have to navigate the Shiv Sena (UBT), its alliance partner in MVA, which has laid claim to the seat. “We have won the seat thrice when we were in alliance with BJP. We have a good presence in the Maval seat. Therefore, at MVA meetings, we are demanding that we should contest Maval. On the other hand, NCP has always lost Maval. The principle is that those who have won the seat in the past should be allowed to contest the seat again,” said Sanjay Raut, chief spokesperson of the Shiv Sena (UBT).

NCP leader Ajit Pawar had said on Monday, “It is a fact that none of the alliance partners of MVA can win elections if fought separately. Thus, the senior party leaders have expressed their opinion to contest the state Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in alliance as MVA but the same will not be ensured for local body elections.”

The NCP is holding a two-day meeting of its district office-bearers to gauge the party situation in its respective areas and this will create grounds for the party’s claim on contesting seats in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, he said.

“Every political party in alliance wants to increase their strength by contesting most seats and get as many members as possible elected to Assembly and Lok Sabha,” Pawar had said, adding that the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) have also started taking stock of their situation across the state.

Also Read

Pune student kills her boyfriend from same class at his home

Fire at an apartment in Pune’s Eden Garden Society

Uddhav Sena extends support to NCP for Pune Lok Sabha seat, but has eyes ...

Challenges in Manipur have not disappeared, it will take some time: CDS A...

Pune Congress spokesperson Ramesh Iyer said that the state party unit has begun the review of each of the districts for the elections and the Pune review will be held on Wednesday.