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NCP hints Pimpri MLA Anna Bansode might be denied ticket

Ajit Pawar's NCP has received applications from leaders such as Jitendra Nanaware, BJP leader Seema Sawale, RPI leader Chandrakanta Sonkamble and MP Gautam Chabuskar of the Shiv Sena.

Pimpri MLA Anna Bansode. (Photo: Facebook/ Aamdar Anna Bansode)

THE Pimpri-Chinchwad unit of Nationalist Congress Party on Tuesday hinted that sitting MLA Anna Bansode might be denied ticket by the party from Pimpri reserved constituency as some leaders are upset with his style of functioning and also that he has not been keeping well.

”The party is looking for a candidate who will ensure a victory…We have several aspirants even from Maha Vikas Aghadi who are trying to get our nomination,” Yogesh Behl, the newly-elected president of NCP Pimpri-Chinchwad unit said at a press conference.

Behl said some leaders have complained to party national president Ajit Pawar that Bansode should be replaced. ”In last five years, Bansode has been working in the constituency. However, he has not been able to give his cent per cent due to health reasons,” he said.

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Behl said the party has received applications from leaders like Jitendra Nanaware, BJP leader Seema Sawale, RPI leader Chandrakanta Sonkamble and even from Gautam Chabuskar. ”The party has not decided who should be given the ticket. Bansode might be continued. But at the same time, the party is giving a deep thought to whether to bring a new face. The party leaders are weighing the options based on the feedback they are getting,” he said.

Behl said Seema Sawale is a former BJP corporator but has been for months trying to get NCP nomination from Pimpri. ”She has been in touch with the voters and has been working in the constituency,” he said.

Behl said Jiteendra Nanaware is young and his known for taking up public cause. ”He has the backing of Shiv Sena MP Shrirang Barne. He is also close to me..,” Behl said.

Behl said Chandrakanta Sonkamble is from RPI (A). ”She is ready to join our party. Even Ramdas Athavale has contacted our party chief. He however is backing her claim as RPI candidate,” he said.

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Bansode, who has been twice elected twice from Pimpri reserved seat, has been under fire from citizens due to his unavailability and inaccessibility. He is close to Ajit Pawar. When Ajit Pawar had staged rebellion in 2019, Bansode was the only MLA who remained with him till the end. The rebellion fizzled out but Bansode struck close rapport with Ajit Pawar.

According to sources in the NCP, Ajit Pawar would not like to replace Bansode who stood by him during difficult time. ”However, now things have changed. Ajit Pawar wants a leader who will win him a seat. Every seat matters in this election. As a result, the party is thinking of replacing him,” he said.

Manoj Dattatrye More

Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades. Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives. Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees. During Covid, over 50 doctors were asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each for getting a job with PCMC. The PCMC administration alerted Manoj More who did a story on the subject, asking then corporators how much money they demanded....The story worked as doctors got the job without paying a single paisa. Manoj More has also covered the "Latur drought" situation in 2015 when a "Latur water train" created quite a buzz in Maharashtra. He also covered the Malin tragedy where over 150 villagers had died. Manoj More is on Facebook with 4.9k followers (Manoj More), on twitter manojmore91982 ... Read More

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