Kothrud Assembly Constituency: BJP’s Stronghold Faces New Challenges Ahead of Elections
With BJP in power from Pune to Delhi, opposition parties are often challenged to take on the party in its strongholds. The Kothrud assembly constituency, which includes areas like Kothrud, Karve Nagar, Warje, Baner, Balewadi, and Pashan, is considered a BJP bastion. However, overconfidence could prove risky, and BJP’s leadership remains cautious.
The constituency has a significant number of Maratha voters, followed by Brahmin and OBC communities. Manoj Jarange Patil’s Maratha reservation agitation, the stance of OBC voters, opposition unity, and the role of MNS could impact the vote share. RPI workers, upset over being left out of seat-sharing discussions, could also affect the outcome. Additionally, 8% of the voters belong to Scheduled Castes and Tribes, which could play a decisive role.
In 2014, BJP’s Medha Kulkarni ended Shiv Sena’s dominance by defeating Chandrakant Mokate with a 65,000-vote margin. In 2019, BJP’s Chandrakant Patil secured 105,246 votes, defeating MNS’s Kishore Shinde, who received 79,751 votes. Kothrud remains one of the BJP’s safest seats.
Although Chandrakant Patil’s candidacy is expected, former corporators Amol Balwadkar and Shyam Deshpande are also vying for a chance to contest. Patil has been actively engaging with voters, while Balwadkar has launched his own events, leading to questions about whether Patil could be replaced.
Ajit Pawar faction’s Vijay Dakle has announced his candidacy, hoping to gain from RPI’s discontent. Shiv Sena’s former MLA Chandrakant Mokate and leader Prithviraj Sutar have started outreach programs. Congress, NCP, and MNS also have candidates, though none appear as strong contenders.
In 2019, Kothrud had 403,557 eligible voters, with 86.15% literacy.