Why did Maharashtra BJP president and revenue minister Chandrakant Patil choose to contest from Kothrud constituency in Pune instead of his home district of Kolhapur?
Patil’s decision to opt for Kothrud instead of any of the assembly constituencies in Kolhapur has not gone down well with the people of Kolhapur city as well as district at large. The sentiment most prevalent among people is that Patil ran away to Pune in search of a safe seat.
Chandrakant Patil is the second most powerful minister in Maharashtra cabinet. He was recently appointed as president of the state BJP. Among all BJP leaders from Maharashtra, he is the closest to Amit Shah as they have worked together since their days in ABVP. After his years in ABVP, he held a key post in RSS in Kolhapur.
According to a Kolhapur-based journalist, for someone who is known to be very close to Amit Shah, Patil should have shown the spirit to contest from Kolhapur. “Amit Shah never shies away from a good political contest. Patil, during the last five years, gave an impression that he too does not hesitate to
take on high and mighty in Kolhapur’s political and cooperative circles. He is a member of state legislative council. So nobody initially expected him to contest assembly elections. Now that he has decided, it would have been better had he contested from one of the constituencies in Kolhapur,” said the journalist requesting anonymity.
Vasant Bhosle, resident editor of prominent Marathi daily Lokmat said that Patil promised many things for Kolhapur but not much has been done. “He had promised Rs 80 crores for famed Mahalakshmi temple trust in Kolhapur. But so far only Rs 5-6 crores have been granted. Similarly, there were other developmental works that he had promised but nothing much has happened,” said Bhosle.
Kolhapur Congress president and former minister of state for home Satej Patil told THE WEEK Patil’s decision not to contest from Kolhapur was expected. “There is anti-incumbency among people. People are not at all happy with flood relief operations. Congress-NCP alliance will do well in the district to win six out of ten seats. Patil knows this and that is why he chose a safe seat like Kothrud in Pune,” said Patil.
Sources informed that before deciding to contest from Kothrud, Patil had surveyed at least three constituencies of Kolhapur to assess whether he could contest from any one of the three. “The survey outcome was negative. Even from a seat like Kolhapur south, which currently has a BJP legislator, the survey result was not encouraging,” said sources.
One of the reasons why Patil made up his mind to contest elections could be found in the verbal duel that has been playing out between NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and Patil. Pawar always taunts Patil by saying that ‘he should first learn to get elected directly by people’. Another reason could be his desire to become the chief minister of Maharashtra in case the central leadership of the BJP decides to send Fadnavis to Delhi for a national role. A potential chief minister candidate has to be elected from among people, that is the unwritten rule in Maharashtra politics.
According to Patil, during his years in ABVP, Patil has spent a lot of time in Pune and knows the city and district well. Also, he currently represents Pune Graduates constituency as a member of the legislative council. That is why party leadership asked him to contest from Pune. Patil’s candidature from Kothrud in Pune has unexpectedly brought down curtains on the electoral career of BJP legislator Medha Kulkarni. Kulkarni, who currently represents Kothrud constituency, was seen as a promising politician within BJP circles. She came to tears when Patil’s name was announced from Kothrud, a constituency which she had nurtured in the last five years. It now remains to be seen whether BJP nominates Kulkarni to legislative council from Patil’s Pune Graduate constituency in 2020.
