Despite opposition from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena renominated Shrirang Barne from the Maval constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Thursday. The two-time MP will face off against Sanjog Waghere of the Shiv Sena (UBT).
"Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis, and Ajit Pawar have kept their promise by giving me the ticket from Maval. I am confident of winning the election for the third time based on my work and connect with people during my last two terms," said Barne.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Barne defeated Ajit Pawar’s son Parth by over two lakh votes. Beginning his political journey in 1997 as a corporator in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), Barne started in the Congress party. He served as chairman of the standing committee of the PCMC from 1999 to 2000 and was also president of the Pimpri-Chinchwad unit of Congress from 2002 to 2007. In 2009, he joined the Shiv Sena in the presence of Uddhav Thackeray. In 2012, he was elected as Sena's group leader in PCMC. Later in 2014, the 59-year-old leader was given the chance to contest the Lok Sabha polls and emerged victorious by triumphing over PWP candidate Laxman Jagtap and NCP nominee Rahul Narvekar. After the split in the Sena, Barne joined the Eknath Shinde-led faction.
On the other hand, Waghere transitioned to Shiv Sena (UBT) from Ajit Pawar's NCP in December last year. Hailing from Pimpri Gaon, Waghere served as a three-time corporator of the PCMC and formerly held the mayoral position in the industrial city. Previously, Waghere held the role of the NCP's Pimpri-Chinchwad unit president. Post the party's division, he maintained a low-profile stance and reduced his political engagements, subsequently aligning himself with the Ajit Pawar-led faction. With a family deeply entrenched in politics, Waghere's wife, Sunita Waghere, secured two terms as a corporator and chaired the PCMC standing committee. Furthermore, his father, Bhiku-Patil Waghere, served as the mayor of PCMC.
Following Barne's renomination, Waghere remarked that even after serving as an MP for 10 years, the leader "has failed to live up to the expectations of the voters." "He promised many things, but implemented very few. Therefore, I am seeking one opportunity from the voters of Maval," he added.
What do the numbers say?
The Maval Lok Sabha constituency comprises six Assembly segments, with three falling under Pune district and three under Raigad. Notably, NCP's Anna Bansode and Sunil Shelke serve as MLAs from Pimpri and Maval respectively, while BJP's Ashwini Jagtap and Prashant Thakur represent Chinchwad and Panvel. Additionally, Mahesh Baldi holds a Congress MLA seat from Uran, and Mahendra Thorve is a Shiv Sena MLA from Karjat.
Established after delimitation in 2008, the constituency witnessed its inaugural elections in 2009, where Shiv Sena's Gajanan Babar secured victory over NCP nominee Azam Pansare. Subsequently, the seat has been consistently held by the Shiv Sena, with Shrirang Barne emerging victorious in both 2014 and 2019. However, the upcoming election presents an intriguing twist with a contest between Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena. With the competition expected to be fierce, it remains to be seen who will emerge victorious in what promises to be a closely contested battle.
