The Pune Cantonment Assembly constituency, reserved for Scheduled Castes and part of the Pune Lok Sabha constituency, witnessed a significant political contest this Assembly election.
BJP's Sunil Kamble narrowly defeated Congress candidate Ramesh Bagwe in a highly competitive race, securing his seat with a margin of 10,320 votes.
Kamble received a total of 76,032 votes, while Bagwe came in second with 65712 votes. Nilesh Alhat, representing the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi party, gained 8869 votes, further influencing the outcome.
Pune Cantonment, a historic area established in 1817 for military purposes and known for landmarks like MG Road and East Street, has traditionally been a Congress stronghold. However, recent elections have shown a shift towards BJP.
In 2009, Ramesh Bagwe won the seat after the constituency was restructured into a reserved constituency, defeating Sadanand Shetty.
Bagwe, previously an MLA from Parvati in 2004, has been a prominent Congress figure, but the Modi wave in 2014 shifted voter preference towards BJP, with Dilip Kamble defeating Bagwe that year.
In 2019, BJP replaced Dilip Kamble with his brother, Sunil Kamble, leading to a close competition between him and Bagwe.
Both candidates belong to the Matang community, resulting in a split within the community's votes.
Throughout the campaign, BJP gained momentum by inducting former Congress loyalists and ex-councillors like Sadanand Shetty, Rashid Sheikh, and Sudhir Janjot, which strengthened their position.
With 291,454 registered voters and 126,574 valid votes cast in this election, Kamble’s victory was a narrow one, reflecting a changing political landscape in Pune Cantonment.
