Pune: The Shivajinagar Assembly constituency is gearing up for a competitive and closely fought election in 2024. Both the Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are fielding multiple aspirants, making the race even more intense.

The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), which had a significant impact in the previous elections, has shown little movement this time.

In the 2014 Assembly elections, Vijay Kale from the BJP triumphed over heavy competition, including candidates from the Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena, and MNS. Kale secured his victory with a margin of nearly 20,000 votes as the division of votes between opposition candidates worked in his favor.

By 2019, the Shivajinagar constituency saw another closely fought battle. Siddharth Shirole, then the BJP candidate, emerged victorious over Congress candidate Datta Bahirat, thanks in part to a vote split caused by the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi’s Anil Kurhade.

Shirole won by a margin of around 5,000 votes, with additional support from MNS's Suhas Nimhan receiving limited backing.

For the 2024 elections, the contest promises to be equally engaging, with several prominent figures vying for a ticket. The Congress party has multiple contenders, including Deepti Chavadhary, Datta Bahirat, Manish Anand, and Sunny Nimhan.

On the BJP side, Siddharth Shirole looks to defend his seat, facing internal competition from Nivedita Ekbote, Adv. Madhukar Musale, and others.

As parties prepare for the elections, Manish Anand of Congress has already launched his campaign by opening an office at Goodluck Chowk, while others await the official announcement of candidacies.

Siddharth Shirole, meanwhile, has been focusing on development projects in the constituency to strengthen his position.