By Tejas Navale
Pune, November 4, 2024: In a dramatic turn of events following a tense 10-day standoff, Nana alias Vitthal Kate, the rebel candidate from Chinchwad Assembly constituency, has officially withdrawn his candidacy, offering both Mahayuti and Mahavikas Aghadi coalitions a sigh of relief. With Kate stepping out, the Chinchwad election will now primarily feature a three-way contest between Mahayuti’s Shankar Jagtap, Mahavikas Aghadi’s Rahul Kalate, and independent candidate Bhausaheb Bhoir.
Kate initially sought to contest under the Mahayuti banner with a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ticket from the Ajit Pawar faction. To secure this, he and his supporters actively appealed to Ajit Pawar, urging him to allot the Chinchwad seat to the NCP in Mahayuti’s seat-sharing talks. However, the BJP ultimately selected Shankar Jagtap for the Chinchwad ticket, prompting Kate to approach NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar for a ticket from Mahavikas Aghadi.
Sharad Pawar, however, had placed his support behind Rahul Kalate for Chinchwad, leaving Kate’s only option to run as an independent. Frustrated yet determined, Kate filed his independent nomination at the eleventh hour. However, soon after, Ajit Pawar personally intervened, encouraging Kate to step aside for the coalition’s overall success. Further, it was also said that Kate was also being called by Sharad Pawar, advising him to withdrew his nomination form. It was widely speculated that Kate would heed Pawar’s advice and withdraw, which he officially did on the last permissible day.
After pulling his nomination, Kate, following Ajit Pawar’s direction, voiced his support for Shankar Jagtap, signalling a united front for Mahayuti in Chinchwad. Now, with Kate’s departure from the contest, it remains to be seen who will gain the upper hand in the three-way race in Chinchwad.
