Kasba assembly by-poll: Ailing Bapat campaigns for Rasane in Kasba; BJP sensing defeat, says NCP
Going all out to retain the Kasba Assembly seat in Pune, the BJP on Thursday roped in ailing city MP Girish Bapat to campaign for its candidate Hemant Rasane, who is facing a tough contest from Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar in the upcoming by-poll.
Bapat has won the Kasba Assembly seat five times in the past. He is a resident of Kasba and, the BJP said, enjoys a strong connection with local residents. However, Bapat has been facing health issues for months and is currently under medical treatment. Earlier, Bapat had said that he would not participate in the by-poll campaign due to health issues. But according to sources, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other state ministers, as well as BJP office-bearers, have been reaching out to Bapat regularly.
Bapat attended an election rally in Kasba on Thursday, where he told the gathering, тАЬKasba voters have a strong bond with the BJP and they will get Rasane elected to the state AssemblyтАЭ. Speaking at the event, Rasane said Bapat is a senior leader and participated in the rally despite his health issues as he is a committed party worker. Political observers feel the BJP is concerned about the Kasba by-poll as the family of late BJP MLA Mukta Tilak had earlier expressed its displeasure over the partyтАЩs decision to field Rasane, instead of another member of the Tilak family, for the by-poll. Mukta Tilak, who won the seat in the 2019 Assembly polls, passed away in December 2022. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other state leaders had met members of the Tilak family, which subsequently extended support to Rasane and started campaigning for the BJP leader. The BJP is also concerned that the local Brahmin community is upset about the candidature being given to a non-Brahmin candidate, said sources.
тАЬIt is a fact that the Brahmin community is hurt that the BJP gave the ticket to a non-Brahmin candidate in Kasba, which has been electing a Brahmin candidate for a long time. Also, denying the candidature to the Tilak family has not gone down well with votersтАж she (Mukta Tilak) had proved her commitment to the party by voting in the Rajya Sabha elections as well as the Legislative Council elections despite being seriously ill. The voters are confused about who to vote for this time,тАЭ said a local resident.
However, city NCP chief Prashant Jagtap said the BJP was sensing defeat in the Kasba by-poll and thatтАЩs why it had to get the ailing Bapat to campaign. тАЬThe BJP is putting the life of Bapat at risk only for political gains,тАЭ he said.
Meanwhile, Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar on Thursday made a surprise visit to the MNS office in Pune, which is located in the Kasba Assembly constituency, despite the Raj Thackeray-led party declaring support for the BJP.
Dhangekar had been with the MNS since its formation and switched over to the Congress in 2017. He has contested from the Kasba Assembly seat in the past as a MNS candidate but lost.
DhangekarтАЩs visit to the party office comes a day after MNS chief Raj Thackeray declared support to the BJP in the by-polls, but said the party cadre will stay away from actively participating in the campaign.
