By Tejas Navale
Pune, October 27, 2024: On Saturday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its second list of candidates, featuring a noteworthy choice for Pune’s Kasba Peth Assembly seat, where BJP has traditionally been dominant since 1995. In a surprising move, the BJP has once again nominated Hemant Rasane to face off against Congress’ Ravindra Dhangekar, who defeated Rasane in the 2023 by-election.
Kasba Peth has been a BJP stronghold since 1995, when the late Girish Bapat first won the seat, establishing party dominance in the constituency. Since then, the BJP was dominant in Kasba under Bapat’s leadership, who himself led the assembly until 2019 before he became Pune’s MP. Following his tenure, the BJP retained control of Kasba in the 2019 election under the late MLA Mukta Tilak. Notably, both these leaders were from the Brahmin community, which has its stronghold in this constituency.
However, in the 2023 by-election, the BJP significantly changed its strategy, fielding non-Brahmin candidate Hemant Rasane from Kasba. This change was deemed pivotal, as the BJP lost the seat to Congress’ Ravindra Dhangekar by a margin of 10,915 votes, attributed largely to the lower turnout among the BJP’s core Brahmin voters. The outcome sparked criticism of the BJP’s candidate selection, with many asserting that sidelining a Brahmin candidate cost the party the seat.
Despite speculations that the BJP would adjust its approach, the decision to field Rasane once again suggests otherwise. Significantly, from the last few days, the Brahmin Mahasangh was constantly demanding a Brahmin candidate from Kasba and other constituencies where the Brahmin community is strong. Similarly, the famous TV personality, Bhagre Guruji, also a few days ago commented that to avoid repetition of the Kasba result of 2023, the BJP must this time field the Brahmin candidate from Kasba.
This time, the que from the BJP for the candidate was also too long. Kunal Tilak, the son of late MLA Mukta Tilak, was interested in contesting from this seat. Further, the BJP’s city president Dheeraj Ghate was also interested in this seat. However, the party once again sidelined these leaders and again reposed its confidence in Rasane.
Following the announcement, both Tilak and Ghate voiced their disappointment publicly. Ghate expressed his dissatisfaction in a Facebook post, while Tilak announced plans to consult party members to understand the rationale behind the decision.
Meanwhile, Ravindra Dhangekar, who broke the BJP’s 28-year hold on Kasba Peth, is set to defend his seat after being confirmed as Congress’ candidate in its first list. Dhangekar, who also unsuccessfully attempted a Pune Lok Sabha run against the BJP’s Murlidhar Mohol, will once again try to prove his mettle by winning this assembly for the second time.
