- Vilas Lande, Sanjog Waghere, Yogesh Behl
- There will be a blow in the upcoming municipal elections
Pimpri. Special Representative
The drumbeat of the forthcoming municipal general election has begun to turn. In order to avert the defeat in Pimpri-Chinchwad, the local leadership of the NCP was expected to be given a chance at the state level. However, that did not happen. The message that the party ignored the opportunity in the Legislative Council elections has now spread among ordinary workers.
Election has been declared for 10 seats in the State Legislative Council. According to the strength of the Legislative Assembly, the NCP has got 2 seats. Ramraje Nimbalkar, Eknath Khadse and former MLA Vilas Lande were at loggerheads till the end. Finally, the NCP leaders sealed the names of Nimbalkar and Khadse.
Meanwhile, former Pimpri-Chinchwad MLA Vilas Lande, former mayor Sanjog Waghere and Yogesh Behl were expected to get a chance at the Legislative Council. Had one of the three got a chance, it would have been easier to challenge the rival BJP.
At present, MLA Anna Bansode from Pimpri Legislative Assembly is a member of NCP. However, apart from Pimpri, the NCP does not have an effective local leader in Bhosari and Chinchwad. Therefore, the Mahavikas Aghadi came to power in the state in 2019. Since then, local leaders in the city have been eyeing the corporation, the minister of state or the Legislative Council. However, the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad elections will be contested under the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Discussions have started in a hushed voice that the party leaders are not trusting due to the stubborn attitude of the local leaders.
Former MLA Lande in the role of ‘Naro or Kunjaro’?
At present, former MLA Vilas Lande has the capacity to elect at least 25 councilors. He is an influential face of the NCP in the whole of Pimpri-Chinchwad. However, Lande is not trusted by the party leadership. Lande, who has been an MLA for 10 years, is the ‘Sharad Pawar’ of Pimpri-Chinchwad. Despite having vast experience and diplomatic leadership, strength is not given by the party. Therefore, if Lande remains in the role of ‘Naro or Kunjaro Wa’ in the forthcoming elections, the NCP will have to pay a heavy price.
Yogesh Behl on his way to retirement
Since its inception, Yogesh Behl has been carrying the NCP flag on his shoulders in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Behl has been in the Municipal Corporation Hall for the last 30 years carrying out various responsibilities such as Councilor, Standing Committee Chairman, Leader of Opposition, Mayor and City President. Now they were expected to be promoted. The leader, who is studious, experienced and has the ability to steer the NCP’s ship by splitting local politics, is on the verge of retirement due to the negligence of party stalwarts. Because, Behl is said to be preparing to field his Chiranjeev Virendra Behl in the municipal election arena.
Sanjog Waghere’s political dilemma
Former city president Sanjog Waghere, who was calm, restrained and a staunch supporter of the NCP, was removed from the post. In fact, his term was over. However, the political ups and downs were expected to give him a chance at a better position. Because, Waghere has no constituency to contest the Assembly elections. Because, Pimpri constituency will be reserved for Scheduled Castes till at least 2029. In particular, Waghere was keen to contest from Maval Lok Sabha constituency in 2019. However, the party forced him to withdraw. Now there is no constituency for the assembly, even after working honestly, the party does not give a chance to a good position. The third generation of Waghere has now become active in politics and despite the fact that Waghere is in a political dilemma to get a chance to the novices, he is not getting the expected support from the party.
