Congress local unit sends list of 20 aspirants for LS polls from Pune

PUNE: The Congress local unit has sent a list of 20 aspirants willing to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha (LS) elections from the Pune constituency to its state and national units. The list features the names of Kasba Peth legislator Ravindra Dhangekar, Congress city unit president Arvind Shinde, Congress state unit secretary Sanjay Balgude, former Congress city unit chief Abhay Chhajed, former MLC Mohan Joshi, and former mayors Aba Bagul and Dipti Chaudhari.

According to party insiders, while many have expressed a desire for a ticket, Dhangekar and Shinde are being considered as frontrunners for being nominated by the party for the upcoming polls. Party sources further said that this is a preliminary list, and that there is a possibility of some names not being included in the list at the last moment. Dhangekar recently won the Kasba Peth assembly by-poll by defeating BJP’s Hemant Rasne in a fiercely fought contest.

Shinde said, “We had asked every aspirant to send in their names and based on the names we have received, a list has been prepared. It has also been sent to the state unit for consideration.” Asked whether he would contest the LS polls, Shinde said that he has been a party member for years and that given a chance, he would like to contest the polls from Pune.

Bagul said that the party should not consider the names of those who have previously lost elections.

Earlier last week, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress chief Nana Patole during his city visit had said that merit alone would be considered by the party while nominating candidates for the LS polls. “We have already won the Kasba Peth by-poll and are confident of winning the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. While considering the ticket, elective merit will be the sole criterion,” Patole had said.

Once considered a Congress stronghold, the Pune LS constituency has been with the BJP since 2014. However, after the demise of sitting MP Girish Bapat in 2023, the Pune seat has had no representation in the LS in the absence of a by-poll. In 2019, Bapat had defeated Mohan Joshi by more than 3 lakh votes.

Interestingly, the party recently appointed Dhangekar as an observer for the Satara Lok Sabha seat while former city unit chief Abhay Chhajed has been appointed as an observer for Hatkanagle. Balgude and another senior party leader and MLA from Sangli, Vishwajit Kadam, have been appointed as observers for Madha and Pune, respectively.

Box

Names of aspirants

Arvind Shinde

Balasaheb Shivarkar

Ravindra Dhangekar

Mohan Joshi

Abhay Chhajed

Anant Gadgil

Dipti Chaudhari

Sanjay Balgude

Aba Bagul

Datta Bahirat

Gopal Tiwari

Virendra Kirad

Sangita Tiwari

Narendra Vyavahare

Yashraj Parkhi

Mukesh Dhiwar

Raju Kamble

Manoj Pawar

Sangram Khopade

Digvijay Jedhe