citizens

Wadeshwar Katta

interaction

Neelam Gorhe

The weekly meeting of the four-year-old Wadeshwar Katta saw anwith the city’s frontline politicians on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, on Wednesday, with several of the invitees staking claim to the Pune seat, even as the sitting member of Parliament (MP) Anil Shirole and the city’s guardian minister, Girish Bapat gave the event a miss, away at Delhi and Mumbai, respectively. The debate and sparring that ensued over the Udupi breakfast unravelled interesting nuggets about the preparations underway.While alliances are yet to be forged between different parties gearing up for the polls, the general refrain among the gathered politicians was the Tagore inspired anthem “Aekla chalo re”. The participating politicians and citizens were quick to warm up to the subject of current political ambience in the country, nibbling on South Indian delicacies and sipping filter coffee, in the comfort of a nippy winter morning. Even as allegations and counter claims flew over the tables, there was also a lot laughter glossing over the sharp edges.The Bharitya Janata Party (BJP)-affiliated (independent) member of Rajya Sabha, Sanjay Kakade, typically stirred the hornet’s nest, with the claim that he stood a good chance to win with a huge margin next year. BJP insiders, stung by his repeated criticism of the party over the past few state elections, have been speculating that Kakade has been pursuing a Congress candidature for the forthcoming elections and has also been courting the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after he met party supremo Sharad Pawar. But Kakade dismissed these claims as rumours, announcing his intentions to stick with BJP.“I have done a survey which shows that given the current situation I can garner votes from 72 per cent of Puneris. I will win with a huge margin of three lakh votes. While there are several other stakeholders within the party, there are issues concerning their performance and reputation, impacting their following among citizens. It is obvious I am the only choice. BJP is my party, so the question of approaching other parties does not arise,” he contended.Congress spokesman in Pune, Mohan Joshi was quick to play the wet blanket on this show of confidence. “Historically, a BJP candidate never wins twice in a row. This has happened with every BJP MP. This time will be no exception. People are also irritated with BJP, as the party did not do anything and are unlikely to vote it back to power. I am sure Congress will contest from Pune and win.” He countered. Considering Pune had been a Congress stronghold in the past, former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has also run a survey to understand the winning possibility and is a likely candidate from the city.On the grounds that their traditional ally doesn’t have a strong candidate from the city, NCP is also eyeing the seat. There are speculations that the party is trying to rope in realtor Satish Magar to contest the elections. “The seat belongs to Congress but it is true that efforts are on to secure it for our party this time. But whoever finally gets the candidature, it has been decided that Congress and NCP will contest jointly and we will win,” insisted NCP spokesperson Ankush Kakade, who was one of the organisers of the Wednesday’s katta.Shiv Sena’schose to read a poem from the book of poet Govind Vinayak alias Vinda Karandikar, that effectively hinted that the waves don’t last long. “Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray has already indicated an “Aekla chalo re” approach. But the final decision is awaited. I have not demanded candidature and will comply with the party’s wish,” she stated, deflecting queries on her candidature for the Pune seat.Yet to place their cards on the table, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leaders at the katta hinted that they may be joining forces with the opposition alliance. “Our stand is clear. We want Modi’s defeat. So we will do whatever we see judicious to attain that end and are likely to go with like-minded parties,” informed MNS leader Rajendra Wagaskar.