Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ujwal Keskar is eyeing candidacy from either Shivajinagar or Kothrud seats in Pune in the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls. He has written a letter to party office-bearers in this regard.
Keskar, a former leader of the opposition in Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), has worked for the saffron party since the age of 14. He was a staunch supporter of the late Gopinath Munde. However, Keskar rebelled in 2009 and unsuccessfully contested the Assembly election as an independent against the BJP-Sena’s Chandrakant Mokate from the Kothrud seat. Following this, he was suspended from the party. Later in 2012, he floated an independent forum called Pune Janhit Aghadi (PJA) and fielded candidates in civic polls. In 2014, he came back into the BJP fold.
"I’ve worked for the party for four decades, adhering to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) ideology. Despite lacking power, I’ve raised key city issues and worked for the greater good, not just one constituency. The party needs to consider my name considering my experience," Keskar said.
He has also approached Union Minister Murlidhar Mohol, MLC Pankaja Munde and Maharashtra Minister Chandrakant Patil, requesting a ticket to contest the Assembly polls.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to kickstart Mahayuti's poll campaign in Pune next week. He is likely to visit the city on September 26 and 27. During his visit, he is expected to inaugurate Pune Metro's District Court to Swargate stretch and lay the foundation stone for the Swargate to Katraj route extension. He is also likely to hold a public meeting in the city with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar, and Devendra Fadnavis in attendance.
