BJP Intensifies Pune Lok Sabha Candidate Selection with Input from City Office-bearers
Pune, 1st March 2024: Input has been gathered from key city officials to determine the preferred BJP candidate for the Pune Lok Sabha constituency. The votes have been confidentially compiled in a report, and the opinions of office bearers will play a decisive role in the final announcement of the candidacy. The process has sparked significant interest, with some prospective candidates actively reaching out to ensure their names are considered before the official declaration, adding to the intrigue surrounding the selection.
As the Lok Sabha elections draw near, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is intensifying its candidate selection process, particularly for the crucial Pune Lok Sabha constituency. Among the 48 seats in the Maharashtra state, BJP is set to contest in 23, making the Pune seat highly prestigious for the party. To gauge the sentiments of office-bearers in Pune, the party has enlisted the services of senior leader Kripashankar Singh and former MLA Balasaheb Patil as observers.
The duo engaged in personal discussions with various stakeholders, including former MLAs, former MPs, ex-corporators, state-level office-bearers, city office-bearers, and alliance presidents. This comprehensive consultation, held at the BJP’s city office on the 29th February, spanned from 12 pm to 7 pm. The purpose was to discern the preferences and opinions of these key figures regarding potential candidates for the Pune Lok Sabha seat.
Muralidhar Mohol, Jagdish Mulik, Sanjay Kakade, Sunil Deodhar, and Shivaji Mankar have all expressed their interest in contesting elections in Pune. Notably, two of these candidates have been actively reaching out to former corporators and city executive officials since last night, urging them to recommend their names to the invigilators overseeing the candidate selection process. This strategy has been extensively discussed among party officials.
The majority of office bearers swiftly conveyed their opinions, taking only one to two minutes to express their views. However, some office bearers engaged in detailed discussions with the invigilators. These in-depth conversations covered various aspects, including the current political landscape in the city, the efficiency of the party organization, the candidates’ track records, their public relations, considerations of caste equations, the preferred geographical region for the candidate, speculation about potential Congress candidates, and the anticipated impact on the election.
During discussions with office bearers, many responded without explicitly naming candidates, expressing a general sentiment that the city provides a favourable environment for the BJP, and they would support whomever the party nominates. Despite some aspirants utilizing their influence to seek recommendations from office bearers, sources suggest that these efforts may not have yielded significant results.
Dheeraj Ghate, the BJP Pune City president, stated, “Following the directives from the State BJP, Invigilators Kripashankar Singh and Balasaheb Patil solicited opinions today from former MPs, MLAs, and office bearers regarding the potential candidate for the BJP in the Pune Lok Sabha constituency. They will compile these confidential opinions into a report to be submitted to the State BJP.”
