Pune Congress Party has intensified its preparations to contest all 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra. In Pune, the party has received applications from 24 candidates vying for the eight assembly constituencies, with the deadline for submissions set on August 5.

Congress has been laying the groundwork to potentially contest independently if the party does not secure a favorable seat allocation within the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

This preparation comes on the heels of Congress emerging as the largest party in Maharashtra during the last Lok Sabha elections, boosting its ambitions for the upcoming state elections.

In Pune, the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) and the Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction) have staked their claims on six out of the eight assembly seats each.

Congress, on the other hand, has nearly solidified its position on the Shivajinagar, Pune Cantonment, and Kasba seats and is working to secure one or two more seats.

The party's strategy mirrors its approach during the Lok Sabha elections when it received 20 applications from potential candidates, ultimately selecting Ravindra Dhangekar, though he did not win.

The 24 applications submitted to Congress for the upcoming assembly elections include aspirants from Kasba, Shivajinagar, Hadapsar, Pune Cantonment, Parvati, Wadgaon Sheri, and Kothrud constituencies.

Congress plans to shortlist three or four candidates from this pool. Although Dhangekar, the sole Congress MLA in Pune, lost the Lok Sabha election, the party observed a positive shift in the Shivajinagar and Pune Cantonment constituencies, prompting many applicants to focus their aspirations on these areas.