‘I will once again contest from Shirur, not joining BJP’: NCP MP Amol Kolhe sets rumours to rest

“I am preparing to recontest from Shirur Lok Sabha seat…Our party chief Sharad Pawar has given me his blessings for contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Shirur,” Kolhe told The Indian Express on Tuesday.

Asked about talk that he was in touch with the BJP, Kolhe said that false rumours were being spread about him. “Just meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the work related to my constituency does not mean I am switching sides. I will be contesting the seat on an NCP ticket and I am not going to the BJP,” he said.

Kolhe also pointed out that he has not held any meetings with BJP leaders. “Show me one BJP leader with whom I had discussed…I have never held any meeting with BJP regarding joining the party. All these were only rumours spread against me,” he said.

Kolhe’s statement follows the announcement by NCP on Monday that he was the favourite choice among its office-bearers from Shirur. “We have discussed our party’s position in Shirur, Jalna and Bhiwandi seats. Most of the office-bearers in Shirur are in favour of Amol Kolhe being fielded once again,” Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil said on Tuesday.

Kolhe’s assertion that he will contest for the NCP is his first such statement in the last year. Speculation about him joining BJP had started doing the rounds after he met Shah last year in New Delhi. Subsequently, he reportedly also met Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Top BJP leaders like state chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule had also said that the BJP would welcome Kolhe if he intended to join the party.

On his part, Kolhe himself had never issued a clear statement on his intentions. “I am not an astrologer to predict what will happen in future,” he had said last year when asked if he was headed towards BJP.

Last month, when NCP witnessed turmoil following Sharad Pawar’s resignation as party chief, Kolhe was missing as he was reportedly busy with his plays. Earlier, he had excused himself from a party rally in Shirdi and was also dropped from the party’s list of star campaigners for the Gujarat polls. Kolhe was also reportedly not on good terms with NCP leader Ajit Pawar.

A popular Marathi television star widely admired for his role as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Kolhe conceded that he could not fully concentrate on his constituency due to his acting assignments. “My work keeps me busy for days because of which I could not remain in my constituency all the time. It is also my duty to take Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s ideas, thoughts, values and principles across the state…which I am trying to do with honesty,” said Kolhe, who had won the outstanding Parliamentarian award during his first tenure.

Kolhe said he has worked hard on the Pune-Nashik highway widening project and easing congestion on it. “There are several projects which have either been started or will be started in the coming days,” he said.

Also Read

In Pune's industrial belts, a new headache: extortion gangs that arm-twis...

Taken serious note of DRDO spy case, says Southern Army Commander

Just over a month into marriage, Pune woman kills husband at farm and bla...

As temperature rises over Pune Lok Sabha seat, Prithviraj Chavan's name s...

Meanwhile, Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil, who won the seat thrice in the past as a BJP-Shiv Sena (undivided) alliance candidate, said he was ready for the challenge. “I have been preparing for the last four years…I am already in poll mode,” Adhalrao-Patil told The Indian Express.