In a sharp attack ahead of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and the party's in-charge for Pune district civic polls, Murlidhar Mohol, has accused Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of hypocrisy and endangering public peace. The controversy erupted after the NCP's ally fielded women from the families of notorious gangsters Bandu Andekar and Gajanan Marne as candidates.
NCP's Alliance Under Fire for Candidate Selection
On Thursday, Murlidhar Mohol launched a scathing critique, pointing out the contradiction between Ajit Pawar's public stance on crime and his party's electoral choices. "The Pune guardian minister (Ajit Pawar) talks about cracking down on criminals and eliminating the koyta gang, but these claims seem hollow when we look at their candidate list," Mohol stated. He emphasized that maintaining law and order is a fundamental duty of elected representatives and warned that "giving tickets to people associated with criminals will definitely disturb peace in Pune." He expressed confidence that the citizens of Pune would make their opinion clear through the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
The specific case involves the NCP's alliance with the Republican Party of India (Kharat) group. As part of this seat-sharing arrangement, the RPI (Kharat) has given tickets to Sonali Andekar, the daughter-in-law of gangster Bandu Andekar, and Laxmi Andekar, his sister-in-law, for the Raviwar Peth-Rasta Peth ward. While they filed nominations under the RPI banner, they are expected to contest on the NCP's iconic 'clock' symbol. Bandu Andekar's son, Vanraj, had previously won the PMC election in 2017 on an NCP ticket but was tragically murdered on September 1, 2024.
Ajit Pawar's Response and BJP's Own Scrutiny
When questioned about the controversy, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar sought to distance himself from the direct selection, stating that the seats in question were allocated to the alliance partner. "It is that party's decision to nominate candidates. I will issue a detailed statement on this later," Pawar said after a visit to the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial.
However, the BJP's criticism faced a twist when it was revealed that the party itself has fielded Pratibha Chorge, whose husband Rohidas has a criminal record. Confronted with this information, Mohol defended the BJP candidate, saying, "Pratibha has been involved in social work and has no criminal charges against her." He conceded that the party would review the matter now that her husband's background had come to light.
BJP Candidate Withdraws Amid Social Media Storm
In a separate but related development, the BJP faced internal turbulence as its candidate from Ward number 2, Puja More, withdrew her nomination on Wednesday. She cited intense trolling on social media platforms over her past critical remarks about former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as the primary reason for her exit from the electoral race.
Explaining her decision to reporters, More said, "Social media played a significant role in previous elections. If misleading information about me is being circulated online, it could harm the party's image. Therefore, I chose to step down as the BJP candidate." Confirming the move, MP Murlidhar Mohol added that some party workers had opposed her candidature, leading to a collective decision to replace her for that particular seat.
These incidents highlight the intense and often contentious nature of urban civic polls in Maharashtra, where candidate selection, criminal antecedents, and alliance dynamics are under constant public and political scrutiny. The developments have set the stage for a fiercely contested election in Pune, with law and order emerging as a central campaign issue.
