It isn’t just aspirants in the BJP who are keen to contest in the upcoming bypoll to the Kasba Peth Assembly constituency in Maharashtra’s Pune following the death of sitting party legislator Mukta Tilak, but alliance partners of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) too are keen to contest the election.
Mukta, 57, great granddaughter-in-law of freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak, died of cancer on December 22. The former mayor of Pune was elected to the state Legislative Assembly from Kasba Peth, a BJP bastion, in 2019.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) city spokesperson Rupali Patil Thombare, who is a former Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader from Pune, has publicly expressed her desire to contest the Kasba bypoll if the party asks her to do so. “Mukta Tilak passed away recently due to illness. It is unlikely that anyone from her family would be contesting on a BJP seat and in that case if my party asks me to contest the election then I am prepared to do so,” Rupali said, adding that she was denied ticket by the MNS in 2019 for the Kasba Assembly seat on ground of Mukta’s illness.
Her statement has, however, not gone down well within the NCP and Congress. “The demise of Mukta Tilak took place just a few days ago and already discussions have started for the bypoll. This is not the culture of Pune and the state. I have given directions to all NCP party workers and leaders to not discuss it,” said city NCP chief Prashant Jagtap.
“It was wrong on her part to make such a statement without discussing it with senior party leaders. This will be conveyed to the party leadership,” said another NCP leader.
City Congress chief Arvind Shinde said, “It was the tradition of the state that if a sitting legislator dies and a family member of the deceased legislator contests the bypoll for the seat then the person irrespective of the political party is elected unopposed. If anyone from the Tilak family contests the Kasba seat then I would personally request the party leadership to not put a candidate but the final decision will be of the party.”
On the NCP leader expressing wish to contest the Kasba by-election, he said that it was the personal opinion of the leader and not of her party. “In case BJP gives candidature to someone from outside the Tilak family then it is obvious that the Congress will contest it as the seat has always been contested by the party under the alliance seat-sharing arrangement. There is no way the Congress will let the seat be contested by any other alliance partner,” he said.
Incidentally, Shinde had contested the 2019 Assembly elections from Kasba and lost to Mukta who had bagged 75,492 votes, while he had received 47,296 votes. “A Shiv Sena rebel had bagged 14,000 votes in Kasba assembly seat in the 2019 elections. Now, the Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray is in alliance with the Congress and NCP as part of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The situation has changed. The Congress will surely contest it,” Shinde said.
Within the BJP, there is a demand to ensure unopposed bypoll for Kasba seat by giving candidature to either Shailesh Tilak, husband of Mukta Tilak, or their son Karan Tilak, However, they have less experience in politics. There are experienced aspirants, including Ganesh Bidkar, Hemant Rasane and Dheeraj Ghate who can be fielded from the constituency.
