Pune’s Patil, Misal, Shirole among others in BJP’s first list

The first list of 99 candidates released by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday comprised of 21 candidates from Western Maharashtra and 6 from Pune district.
The list includes Siddharth Shirole from Shivajinagar, cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil from Kothrud, Madhuri Misal from Parvati, Shankar Jagtap from Chinchwad, Mahesh Landge from Bhosari, and Rahul Kul from Daund assembly seat.
Shankar Jagtap, brother-in-law of sitting MLA Ashwini Jagtap, is a new face fielded from Chinchwad. Hindustan Times in its October 20 edition had reported that party state leadership asked Ashwini to withdraw her claim to field Shankar, who serves as BJP president of Pimpri-Chinchwad.
For the remaining five constituencies, the BJP has opted for incumbent MLAs.
“There is no anti-incumbency against our candidates. Our candidates have performed well during their tenure, and that is why they were given tickets based on merit,” said Chandrashekhar Bawankule, BJP state president.
Kothrud, a BJP stronghold, will once again see cabinet minister and Solapur district guardian minister Chandrakant Patil contesting. Corporator Amol Balwadkar and Shyam Deshpande had also sought tickets but were passed over in favour of Patil. During his visit to the city on Thursday, Bawankule met Balwadkar and asked him to withdraw the claim following which he appeared to have relented.
In Parvati, the BJP has fielded incumbent MLA Misal for the fourth time. Misal, a three-time MLA said, “She will do justice to the trust party has reposed in her once again.”
Corporator and house leader Shrinath Bhimale, who was vying for the ticket, expressed disappointment, saying, “I will decide my future course of action in the next few days.”
In Daund, sitting MLA Kul, known for his close ties with deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, has been retained. Kul’s wife, Kanchan, had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Baramati on a BJP ticket.
In Bhosari, wrestler and incumbent MLA Landge has been fielded again. In Shivajinagar, despite facing anti-incumbency, Shirole has secured the ticket. Shirole won by a narrow margin of 5,000 votes in 2019, and several of the BJP officebearers resigned due to dissatisfaction with his performance.
“I am grateful to the central and state leadership of the BJP and the Mahayuti for once again entrusting me with the responsibility of representing the citizens of Shivajinagar in the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections. With the continued support of the constituents and the dedicated efforts of my MLA office team over the past five years, I am confident of securing a decisive victory,” Shirole said. However, political analysts believe Shirole faces an uphill battle to retain his seat.
BJP’s first list also included candidates from key districts in Western Maharashtra. In Solapur district, the party retained Vijaykumar Deshmukh from Solapur North, Sachin Kalyanshetti from Akkalkot, and Subhash Deshmukh from Solapur South.
In Satara, the BJP has given another chance to Jaykumar Gore from Man constituency, who is close to Fadnavis. From Karad South and Satara, Atul Bhosale and Chhatrapati Shivendra Sinhraje Bhosale will contest again.
In Kolhapur, Amal Mahadik will run from Kolhapur South, aiming to reclaim the seat he lost in 2019 to Congress candidate Ruturaj Patil. From Ichalkaranji, Rahul Awade, son of MLA Prakash Awade, will contest after joining BJP a month ago.
In Sangli, the party announced tickets for Suresh Khade from Miraj and Sudhir Gadgil from Sangli, despite Gadgil previously expressing a desire not to run this year. BJP reportedly failed to find a strong alternative, leading Gadgil to reconsider.
In Ahmednagar, the party retained five candidates, including cabinet minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil from Shirdi, Monika Rajale from Shevgaon, and Shivajirao Kardile from Rahuri. Pratibha Pachpute and MLC Ram Shinde were selected for the Shrigonda and Karjat Jamkhed constituencies, respectively.
Out of the 21 seats in Western Maharashtra, the BJP has re-nominated sitting MLAs in 14 constituencies. In the remaining seven, it has either fielded previous candidates or relatives of party leaders.
“BJP is playing it safe in Western Maharashtra by retaining many familiar faces. They don’t want to take risks in seats that could be difficult. For tougher seats, the party might announce candidates separately, considering all possibilities,” said Mahesh Sane, a political analyst.