Pune: As political parties in Maharashtra gear up for the upcoming Assembly elections, major leaders within the Mahayuti are engaging in discussions about seat allocations.
The Pimpri constituency, currently held by Anna Bansode of the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), has been a contentious point.
Local BJP leader Amit Gorkhe was also vying for the candidacy in this constituency, heating up the political atmosphere in Pimpri. To resolve this contention, the Mahayuti decided to nominate Amit Gorkhe for the Legislative Council instead, clearing the way for Anna Bansode.
With Gorkhe’s shift to the Legislative Council, Bansode’s path for the Assembly seat is now unobstructed. Bansode addressed this development in a recent media interaction.
When asked about Gorkhe's departure and the removal of competition, Bansode said, “It's not about removing obstacles. For the past two years, the state government has been a coalition of NCP’s Ajit Pawar faction, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, BJP, and the Republican Party of India.
Local party workers in each constituency strive for candidacy. In our constituency, Amit Gorkhe from BJP was a hopeful. However, now BJP has nominated him for the Legislative Council.”
Bansode added, “Each party nominates the best candidate for each constituency. With Gorkhe now running for the Legislative Council, I will contest the Assembly election from this constituency. I firmly believe that the Mahayuti leaders and workers will support the campaign.
I have been working in the Pimpri constituency for the past ten years, and this seat belongs to Ajit Pawar's faction. I am confident that we will retain it in the Assembly elections.”
For several days, there has been speculation about which party Anna Bansode would represent in the election. Responding to this, he stated, “I am a staunch supporter of Ajit Pawar, and my decision is made. I will contest the election from Ajit Pawar’s party in this constituency.
While working in Pimpri, I receive calls from various parties, but I have made my decision. I will run for election from Ajit Pawar's party.”
