Pune: The announcement of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) candidate for the Hadapsar Assembly constituency by the Maha Vikas Aghadi has sparked dissent within the coalition.
A growing demand for a change of candidate has led former ministers and ex-MLAs, alongside former corporators from the Nationalist Congress Party, to establish the 'Hadapsar Vikas Aaghadi.'
They have issued a warning that failure to change the candidate could lead to a repeat of the situation from the 2002 elections in the upcoming Assembly polls.
Currently, the Hadapsar Assembly constituency is held by the Nationalist Congress Party within the Mahayuti, with Chetan Tupe, a supporter of Ajit Pawar, serving as the sitting MLA and the candidate for the Mahayuti.
Within the MVA, former MLA Mahadev Babar had previously advocated for the allocation of this constituency to the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
However, the party announced NCP (SP)'s Prashant Jagtap as the candidate, which has not sat well with several leaders, including former corporator Yogesh Sasane from the NCP (SP), former Congress minister Balasaheb Shivarkar, and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Mahadev Babar.
In response to Jagtap’s nomination, these leaders have united to form the 'Hadapsar Vikas Aaghadi,' claiming that it comprises ten former corporators from various parties.
Recently, officials from this front met with Dr. Amol Kolhe, MP from Shirur, in Mumbai to voice their opposition to Jagtap's candidature and called for a reevaluation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi's candidate selection.
Yogesh Sasane expressed concerns over the choice of an outsider candidate for the Hadapsar constituency, stating, “A proposal for a change of candidate has been presented to senior leaders by the Hadapsar Vikas Aaghadi.
Assurance has been given that discussions will be held with the senior leaders regarding this. However, if the candidate is not changed, the Hadapsar Vikas Aaghadi will contest the elections.”
