The General Elections for Pune Lok Sabha Constituency were held on May 13 with the voters turnout of 51.25% which was more than the voters number in 2019 i.e. 49.89%. Pune being the second largest city in Maharashtra comprises six Lok Sabha Constituencies - Vadgaon Sheri, Kothrud, Parvati, Pune Cantonment, Kasbapeth and Shivaji Nagar. The battle was mainly between Murlidhar Kisan Mohol (BJP) and Ravindra Dhangekar (Congress). As the results were announced on June 4, Murlidhar Mohol (BJP) won by 1,23,038 votes as per the data shared by ECI (Election Commission of India). After taking the oath as minister in NDA cabinet 3.0, he was appointed as the Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Cooperation.
Over the past two Lok Sabha Elections, BJP has been winning in the seat in Pune Constituency. In 2014, BJP candidate Anil Shirole won against Congress candidate Dr. Vishwajeet Patangrao Kadam. Similarly, in 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Girish Bhalchandra Bapat (BJP) won against Mohan Joshi (Congress).
In 2006 and 2009, Congress won this seat. It was Suresh Kalmadi who won the seat twice, and is also the former Union Minister of Railways in India (1995-1996). BJP won the Pune Lok Sabha seat for the first time in 1991 with Anna Joshi being the candidate.
Voters turnout
Increase in the number of voters this year definitely was a plus point but in the Shivajinagar assembly, where there was more BJP representation witnessed a decline in the voters count. In contrary, the areas where congress had a good presence there was increase in voting.
Candidates popularity
Before contesting in Lok Sabha Elections 2024, Mohol was the mayor of the city. His post helped him build a network. His active participation in civic body management during Covid-19 helped him create an image. Therefore, his popularity made him gain votes. On the other hand, Dhangekar benefited in the elections by being the leader of the needy and the marginalized community and addressing issues of the common man.
Earlier the most powerful centre for the party was Kasba Peth as leaders like Girish Bapat were representing the area. Now, this time Bharatiya Janata Party has five legislators in the city representing Kothrud, Parvati, Shivajinagar, Khadakwasla and Cantonment seat. BJP has shifted its power centre from Kasba Peth to Kothrud as Murlidhar Mohol, the newly sworn-in central minister, Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni, and Chandrakant Patil, the state minister are all from Kothrud area.
The Lok Sabha Elections 2024 in the state of Maharashtra witnessed voting in the first five phases from April 19 to May 20. According to the sources, more than 50% i.e. 26 out of 48, of the newly elected MPs are from the Maratha community whereas 9 are from Other Backward Classes (OBC), 6 from Scheduled Caste (SC), 4 from Scheduled Tribe (ST) and 3 from other caste.
While the three decades of partnership between Shiv Sena and BJP broke, Eknath Shinde was seen supporting BJP. The Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray built Maha Vikas Aghadi with Congress and NCP. Also, a rift within NCP caused Ajit Pawar to align with BJPs Mahayuti alliance, whereas Sharad Pawar sided with Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra and INDIA Bloc at the national level.
Pune constituency has been an important seat for both BJP and congress. BJP retaining this seat again shows the growing support base for the party. Let’s see how our newly elected MP will take forward the legacy going on since two decades and the political dynamics in Pune.