Pune: The Congress party’s candidate interviews for the upcoming state assembly elections, held on Sunday (October 13) in Pune, revealed strong interest in the Pune Cantonment and Shivajinagar constituencies.
Party insiders suggest that this surge in interest is likely because Congress is expected to contest these two seats, along with Kasba, under the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. The alliance’s seat-sharing agreement is nearing finalization, and these constituencies may be part of Congress's share in Pune.
At the interviews, which were conducted at the Congress Bhavan by former minister and Pune Lok Sabha in-charge Yashomati Thakur, along with Jagdish Thakur, it became clear that Congress leaders from other constituencies are also pushing for additional seats to be allocated to the party.
City Congress President Arvind Shinde and Pune Lok Sabha coordinator Ajit Darekar were also present for the interviews, which saw a total of 41 candidates from eight constituencies express their desire to contest the elections.
With the final seat allocation yet to be announced, Congress leaders are focused on ensuring the party’s influence across Pune. In Kasba, Congress’s sitting MLA Ravindra Dhangekar will face competition from other potential candidates, including former mayor Kamal Vyavahare, Sangeeta Tiwari, Mukhtar Shaikh, and Balasaheb Dabhekar.
Shivajinagar constituency is also expected to witness a heated contest for candidacy. Among the eleven aspirants interviewed were former corporator Datta Bahirat, former MLA Deepti Chaudhary, and Manish Anand.
In a surprising move, Sunny Nimhan, who is currently with BJP, was also interviewed despite Congress’s official opposition to his candidacy. This led to significant support from Nimhan’s followers during the process.
In the Pune Cantonment constituency, where Congress has traditionally been strong, the race for candidacy saw the participation of former Minister of State for Home Ramesh Bagwe, his son Avinash Bagwe, as well as Advocate Avinash Salve, who recently switched to Congress from the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
Former corporator Lata Rajguru and Milind Ahire were also among the ten candidates interviewed.
Additional constituencies also saw interest, including Parvati, where former deputy mayor Aaba Bagul and two others applied for candidacy. Former Minister of State Balasaheb Shivarkar and another candidate from Hadapsar are seeking a nomination, while Shrirang Chavan and two others are in the running for the Khadakwasla seat.
Sandeep Mokate has applied for Kothrud, and five candidates are vying for the Wadgaon Sheri seat.