Chinchwad Assembly Seat: NCP's Nana Kate Makes Stand Clear, Says 'Won't Campaign For BJP's Shankar Jagtap' (EXCLUSIVE)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has denied the ticket to its incumbent MLA Ashwini Jagtap to contest the upcoming elections from the Chinchwad Assembly seat. Instead, her brother-in-law, Shankar Jagtap, who is the party's Pimpri-Chinchwad chief, has secured the candidacy. This decision has upset BJP's ally Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and its leaders in Chinchwad have made it clear that they won't be campaigning for Jagtap.

Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Nana Kate, who is keen on contesting the polls, said, "A meeting was held of all the former corporators and current and former office bearers of the NCP in Chinchwad. We have decided to not campaign for the BJP candidate. Instead, any one of us will stand for the elections, and the rest of us will campaign for that candidate."

Kate also emphasised that he and his supporters would seek a ticket from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). If they don't receive a positive response, they will consider the option of contesting as an independent, he said.

"From the outset, Ajit (dada) told me to keep in touch with the voters, and accordingly, I followed his instructions. However, now this seat has gone to the BJP. I feel betrayed," he added.

Laxman Jagtap held the Chinchwad seat from 2009. However, after his passing in 2023, a bypoll was held and his wife Ashwini Jagtap was nominated by the BJP. Kate fought against her but faced a defeat.

Recently, it was reported that Ajit Pawar had offered BJP to exchange any other seat in the state for Chinchwad. Pawar had apparently given this proposal to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and mentioned that if this issue was not resolved at the state level, he would head to Delhi to speak to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. However, this did not materialise, and the seat remained with the BJP. It will now be interesting to see whether Kate joins MVA and contests against Jagtap.