BJP Pune Chief Dheeraj Ghate Voices Discontent Over Ticket Denial For Kasba Assembly Seat
BJP Pune Chief Dheeraj Ghate Voices Discontent Over Ticket Denial for Kasba Assembly Seat
BJP Pune city chief Dheeraj Ghate publicly criticized the party on Saturday after he was denied a ticket to contest the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections for the Kasba assembly seat. Ghate, who identifies as a staunch Hindutva leader, expressed his disappointment following the BJP’s candidate announcement, which favored former corporator Hemant Rasane, despite Rasane’s inability to retain the seat for the party during last year’s bypoll.
In the BJP’s candidate list released over the weekend, sitting legislators Bhimrao Tapkir and Sunil Kamble were given tickets for Khadakwasla and Pune Cantonment, respectively, with Rasane returning as the candidate for Kasba. Ghate, who has been a loyal party worker for over 30 years and has sought a ticket from the Kasba seat for several years, took to Twitter to voice his frustrations. “You want a Hindutva government but don’t want a Hindutva activist for 30 years as a candidate,” he stated, highlighting the contradiction he perceives in the party’s choices.
Sources close to Ghate indicated that while he will not rebel against the party, he intends to express his displeasure to party leadership regarding the decision.
Ghate has a significant political background, having been elected as a corporator to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in 2017, where he initially served as the Leader of the House. Although he was later replaced in that role, he was appointed the BJP’s Pune unit chief.
The BJP has historically held the Kasba seat but faced a setback in the recent bypolls, losing to Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar. Other party aspirants have also expressed dissatisfaction, including Srinath Bhimale, who was overlooked for the Parvati seat, and Amol Balwadkar, who challenged sitting BJP veteran Chandrakant Patil for the Kothrud assembly seat.
In addition to Ghate’s situation, the BJP also declined to offer a ticket to Deepak Nagpure in Khadakwasla, who had been positioning himself as a Hindutva leader ahead of the elections.
