Pune elections: MNS faces defections, BJP has problem of plenty

Bopodi, which marks the limit of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), as well as the commercial hubs of J M Road and FC Road, fall within this assembly constituency.

The MNS had fared well in these areas during the 2012 civic elections, with the BJP, the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress also making their presence felt. However, Nilesh Nikam, a heavyweight NCP corporator, had been defeated here during the 2012 municipal polls.

In the run-up to this year’s election, the MNS has been the worst-hit, with four of its six corporators in the area defecting to other parties. While Prakash Dhore, erstwhile president of MNS’s Pune unit, chose to join the BJP, other MNS leaders like Anil Rane, Archana Kamble and Asha Sane followed suit.

Meanwhile, uncertainty looms over the future of Raju Pawar, another senior MNS corporator, as he did not appear for the interviews conducted by the party. Like other electoral panels, Shivajinagar also presents a problem of plenty for the BJP.

Vinayak Nimhan had won the assembly constituency on a Congress ticket during the 2009 elections, but a relatively low-profile Vijay Kale, from the BJP, defeated him in the 2014 state elections. Nimhan has, since then, returned to the party he started out from, Shiv Sena, and is now its city unit president. Vijay Shevale, a former corporator from NCP, has also joined the BJP.

Incidentally, Pune MP Anil Shirole is a resident of Shivajinagar and his son Siddharth Shirole is rumoured to be one of the hopefuls for the party’s ticket for the civic polls. Several other leaders, from various political parties, have also joined the BJP, and many of them are eyeing tickets to polls.

The defection of former MNS corporators has also boosted electoral chances of the NCP, which hopes to fare better in the area. NCP MLC Anil Bhosale is also a voter in the area, while his wife is a sitting corporator from the party.

The Congress faces an uphill task in this area, although deputy mayor and party leader Mukarianna Algude and some other leaders are also residents of this area.