NCP’s Kakade elected unopposed from Pune MLC seat; rebels heat up Jalgaon & Nashik contest; BJP vs NCP (SP) in Solapur

Pune/Nashik/Kolhapur: NCP candidate Vikram Kakade was on Thursday elected unopposed to the Maharashtra Legislative Council from the Pune local authorities constituency after all rival candidates withdrew on the last day for withdrawal of nominations. The elections in Nashik and Jalgaon have, however, become multi-cornered after Mahayuti failed to rein in key rebels.The Solapur MLC seat is set to witness a contest between BJP’s Rajendra Raut and NCP (SP)’s Vasantrao Deshmukh. The Satara-Sangli MLC seat is headed for a three-cornered contest among BJP’s Dhairyashil Kadam, NCP (SP)’s Abhaysinha Jagtap and independent candidate Kishor Dhumal.In Pune, NCP (SP)’s Shrikant Patil, BJP’s Pradip Kand and Shiv Sena’s Ranjeet Jare were among those who withdrew from the race, paving the way for Vikram Kakade, the son of former BJP MP Sanjay Kakade. Vikram had joined NCP with his father on the final day of nominations. Vikram dedicated his victory to former deputy CM Ajit Pawar and said he planned to meet elected representatives across Pune district to thank them and understand their concerns.On the withdrawal of NCP (SP) candidate Patil, Kakade said, “I was not part of the higher-level talks but I have read that my father spoke to the leaders concerned.”Party sources said senior NCP members worked behind the scenes to avoid a contest, with former minister Dilip Walse Patil reportedly meeting NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Thursday to facilitate an unopposed election.Explaining his decision to withdraw, NCP (SP)’s Patil said he respected the request made by deputy CM Sunetra Pawar and followed the guidance of Sharad Pawar. He said the move was intended to prevent horse-trading and uphold the integrity of the electoral process. Kakade, however, rejected the allegations, saying, “Mahayuti had the support of more than 95% of voters in the constituency. Claims of horse-trading are completely baseless.”NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar raised concerns about possible large-scale spending linked to the election. “There were discussions suggesting Rs 60-70 crore was spent to secure the ticket, and another Rs 40-50 crore could have been spent if polling had taken place. Candidates from ordinary backgrounds feel pressured in such an environment. Mahayuti also had a clear numerical advantage, with nearly 70% of the voters backing it,” he said.Kakade’s candidature had sparked discontent within sections of NCP, with some leaders arguing that long-serving party workers were overlooked in favour of a new entrant. Former MLA Vilas Lande, Pimpri Chinchwad NCP chief Yogesh Behl and several other office bearers had publicly questioned the decision. The sources said Kakade’s close association with Parth Pawar was among the factors that worked in his favour.BJP’s Kand, who had entered the race as a rebel candidate and withdrew, said, “We had sought this seat for BJP as our strength in Pune district is almost equal to NCP’s. Under the alliance arrangement, however, the seat was allotted to NCP. As a loyal party worker, I followed the directive and withdrew my nomination.”Limited success in NashikIn Nashik, several rounds of high-level discussions among Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP members yielded only limited success. While BJP member and former NMC standing committee chairman Ganesh Gite withdrew his independent nomination following instructions from senior leader Girish Mahajan, his younger brother, Gokul Gite, refused to step aside.Gokul said his decision to remain in the race was triggered by alleged derogatory remarks made against him by Sena MLC Kishor Darade and his brother Kunal Darade, both relatives of the official Shiv Sena candidate and sitting MLC Narendra Darade. Speaking to the media in the evening, Gokul said, “Kunal made a derogatory comment while speaking to some corporators last night. On Wednesday evening, Kishor also called and used unparliamentary language. Given this, why should I withdraw?”Kunal, however, denied the allegations and suggested the controversy stemmed from a manipulated audio clip. He said the clip was likely AI-generated and intended to create divisions. “They are like elder brothers to me. I will meet them. I am sure someone is trying to create misunderstandings by circulating a fake clip,” he said.With independent candidate, Prasad Hiray, also in the fray and MVA failing to field a nominee, Nashik is now headed for a triangular contest, primarily between Gokul and Narendra. A similar situation has unfolded in Jalgaon, where Mahayuti struggled to ensure a clear contest for its official BJP candidate, Nandkishore Mahajan. Sena rebel Reshma Kale has defied party pressure and remained in the race.Unlike Nashik, Jalgaon will see a direct contest involving MVA, which has fielded Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Sharad Tayade. Independent candidate Anil Chaudhary is also contesting, making it a four-way fight.MVA backs Deshmukh in SolapurFollowing the rejection of Congress candidate Aditya Fattepurkar’s nomination, MVA decided to back Deshmukh, who had filed his nomination despite the seat being allocated to Congress. Several independent candidates, including rebels from both Mahayuti and MVA, withdrew from the race.“We tried to ensure our candidate wins unopposed. The ego of one leader has, however, forced a contest. There are very few councillors from NCP (SP), so the opposition candidate will lose by a huge margin,” BJP MLA Sachin Kalyanshetti said.NCP (SP) Madha MLA Abhijeet Patil has, however, distanced himself from Deshmukh’s candidature. “I was not taken into confidence while filing the nomination. No one approached me for support. I have nothing to do with Deshmukh’s candidature,” he said.Sources said Madha MP Dhairyashil Mohite Patil persuaded Deshmukh to remain in the contest. “Deshmukh is a senior politician with strong cross-party relations. There is a brewing discontent within Mahayuti, which could benefit him,” a source said.The electorate consists of elected councillors from local bodies within the respective constituencies. In Solapur, there are 616 eligible voters, 305 men and 311 women. A candidate needs at least 309 votes to win.For the Satara-Sangli seat, BJP candidate sought the intervention of Shiv Sena leader and minister Shambhuraj Desai, who helped convince Sena’s Tanaji Patil to withdraw his nomination. This move signals that BJP and Shiv Sena have resolved their differences. The BJP candidate will, however, still need to secure votes from the MVA camp to ensure victory.A total of 895 voters are eligible in the Satara-Sangli constituency, including 472 from Satara and 423 from Sangli. MVA holds significant strength in Sangli, while NCP, key in Satara, has remained silent so far.Tanpure elected unopposed in AhilyanagarAll candidates, except BJP’s Prajakt Tanpure, withdrew from the contest in the Ahilyanagar local authorities council election, resulting in his unopposed victory. Returning officer Pankaj Ashiya made the announcement after nearly six-and-a-half hours of high-voltage political developments on the final day for withdrawal of nominations.“All the candidates except BJP’s Tanpure have withdrawn. We have handed over the certificate declaring him elected unopposed from the Ahilyanagar constituency to the Maharashtra Legislative Council,” Ashiya said.The situation took a dramatic turn when rebel NCP candidate Dattaray Pansare claimed he had neither authorised nor signed any withdrawal letter. “Someone presented a withdrawal letter claiming I had authorised them and even forged my signature. I will not withdraw,” Pansare said around 5pm, even threatening to take extreme steps if his nomination was cancelled.The tension was eventually defused following the intervention of Ahilyanagar MLA Sangram Jagtap, who held discussions with Pansare and facilitated a resolution. “I thank MLA Jagtap for his intervention. The matter is now settled, and Prajakt Tanpure has been elected unopposed,” district guardian minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said.