By Tejas Navale
Pune, October 31, 2024: With the deadline for filing nominations closed for the upcoming assembly election, Deputy Chief Minister and NCP National President Ajit Pawar took a decisive step by personally visiting the residence of Nana alias Vitthal Kate, former Leader of Opposition of the PCMC and now a rebel candidate from Chinchwad. In a direct appeal, Pawar reportedly advised Kate against standing as an independent candidate, urging him instead to rally behind the Mahayuti alliance candidate.
Earlier, long before the Mahayuti candidate for Chinchwad was officially named, NCP members and workers had strongly advocated that Pawar secure the Chinchwad seat for the NCP party under the Mahayuti seat-sharing arrangement. Despite these efforts, the BJP announced Shankar Jagtap as its candidate in its first candidate list, sparking dissatisfaction among NCP workers.
Following this, rebel candidates Nana Kate, Rahul Kalate, and Chandrakant Nakhate visited Sharad Pawar, President of the NCP (SP), at the Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in Mumbai. During the meeting, the senior Pawar urged the three leaders to come to a consensus. However, when a resolution could not be reached, the NCP (SP) officially nominated Rahul Kalate on behalf of the Mahavikas Aghadi in Chinchwad, leading Nana Kate to declare his candidacy independently.
Dissatisfied with the decision, Kate went on to file his nomination, becoming a rebel candidate. Meanwhile, former ally Bhausaheb Bhoir also joined the fray, filing his nomination as an independent and expressing interest in contesting from Chinchwad as well.
With four prominent leaders — Shankar Jagtap, Rahul Kalate, Nana Kate, and Bhausaheb Bhoir — now vying for Chinchwad, the upcoming election is expected to be highly competitive. If none of these leaders withdraw, experts anticipate a potential split in the vote, which could influence the outcome. In the 2023 by-election, Rahul Kalate’s independent run resulted in a split that ultimately benefitted BJP’s Ashwini Jagtap, who secured 135,603 votes. NCP’s candidate, Nana Kate, garnered 99,435 votes, while Kalate received 44,112 votes.
After his meeting with Kate, Ajit Pawar spoke to the media, acknowledging the deep sentiments among party workers: “I have listened to all the concerns and suggestions expressed by our party workers. The emotions of the party activists are strong this time. I have noted all grievances and will announce a decision by this evening that our party members will be expected to respect.”
With Pawar’s direct intervention, all eyes are now on Nana Kate’s next move. The final date for withdrawing nominations is November 4, and it will be interesting to see whether Kate will decide to heed Ajit Pawar’s appeal or remain in the race as a rebel candidate.
