MNS dents BJP-Sena strongholds

PUNE: During his party's first appearance in PMC elections in 2007, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray had asked party workers to 'open an account'. This time around he appealed, "The account has been opened, now convert it into banks (referring to vote bank)." On Friday, MNS emerged as the second largest party in the Pune Municipal Corporation with 29 seats, leaving behind the Congress and the saffron alliance.
The party made inroads not just in Shiv Sena's bastion but also won over the traditional educated middle-class voters of BJP. For instance, areas like Model Colony, Bhosalenagar, Karvenagar, Kothrud depot, Kasba, Juna Bazar and Parvati chose MNS candidates.
From seven corporators in the 2007 election, the party this time secured 29 seats to the Pune Municipal corporation, which has a strength of 152 corporators.
MNS spokesperson Ajay Shinde said, "In certain pockets, voters chose both our candidates in the panel. It shows the strong support for the party. We have decided to concentrate on these pockets now as a preparation for future elections."
The panels in which MNS made a clean sweep are as follows: Ward 21 Camp -- Babu Wagaskar and his wife Vaneeta Babu Wagaskar; Ward 6 Bopodi -- Prakash Dhore and Archana Ramesh Kamble; Ward 22 Model Colony -- Dattatray Raju Pawar and Neelam Avinash Kulkarni; Ward 54 Dhayari -- Rajabhau Laigude and Yugandhara Chakankar; Ward 32 Karvenagar -- Rajendra Barate and Surekha Makwan; Kasba -- Ravindra Dhangekar and Anita Dakhve; Juna Bazar -- Ajay Tayade and Sangeeta Tikone and Kothrud depot -- Kishor Shinde and Jayashree Gajanan Marne.
Party general secretary Anil Shidore said, "Some 7 to 8% new voters have been added since the last election. At a time when just 51% turned out to vote, the involvement of fresh blood makes a difference. Besides, the traditional vote bank of Shiv Sena and BJP -- the educated middle-class -- was fascinated with the written examination procedure followed by us while selecting candidates."
City president Bala Shedge said, "Written examinations, giving tickets to party workers only and door-to-door campaigning with basic understanding about the locality helped the party in securing such a strong position." We will conduct a training session for our candidates since most of them would enter the house for the first time. Training is an important part of the MNS procedures and we would conduct such sessions frequently, he added.
Vote Count
As per the figures shared by MNS office-bearers, the party secured about 75,000 votes in the 2007 elections. On Friday, it is poised to cross the two lakh-mark.
The MNS has not only won the second largest number of seats, but it has also received a promising response from some city pockets. In eight panels, both its candidates won. The party has decided to concentrate on these pockets now and strengthen its network further.
The 50% reservation clause for women benefited MNS significantly. Of the 29 seats won, as many as 18 elected candidates are women.