Two defections in weeks, why it's setback season for Congress in Maharashtra
Congress leaders point to how Thopte was the party's choice for the legislative assembly speaker's post during the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) regime but that then governor B.S. Koshyari had not allowed elections for the post to be held.The Congress had three MLAs from Pune city and district in the outgoing legislative assembly, but it drew a blank in the region in the assembly polls last year. Of the three MLAs, Thopte and Dhangekar have switched sides, leaving just Sanjay Jagtap, who was elected from Purandar, with the party.advertisementCausing more flutter in the Congress, the BJP has made overtures to another legacy Congress leader—independent Lok Sabha MP Vishal Patil, the grandson of former chief minister and Congress veteran Vasantdada Patil. In the seat-sharing agreement within the MVA for the general elections last year, the Sangli constituency was allotted to the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray). Vishal Patil contested the seat as an Independent and won by defeating the BJP's two-term MP Sanjaykaka Patil.A former Congress MLA from Pune and a former Congress minister who joined the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) are also reported to be on way to the BJP.Thopte and his father Anantrao, a former minister, have represented the Bhor assembly constituency in 1980-99 and 2004-24. Thopte, a former education minister, had faced a shock defeat at the hands of Kashinath Khutwad of the newly-formed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). In 2004, Anantrao reclaimed the seat. In 2009, he sat out in favour of his son, who also retained the seat in 2014 and 2019. However, in the state polls in 2024, Thopte faced an unexpected defeat at the hands of Shankar Mandekar of the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar.A wrestler, Mandekar was with the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and later joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Mandekar was brought into the NCP and nominated from the seat. Ajit Pawar was said to be eager to ensure Thopte's defeat considering his role in the victory of his cousin Supriya Sule of the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and the defeat of his wife Sunetra Pawar from the Baramati Lok Sabha seat last year.advertisementThopte's entry into the BJP will strengthen the party in a constituency where it has traditionally been on the weaker side. In the next assembly polls in 2029, the BJP aims to come to power on its own merit. Interestingly, Anantrao was always seen as an opponent of NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar when the two were in the Congress. The BJP has traditionally banked on its opposition to Pawar Senior to grow in Maharashtra. Anantrao was also seen a chief minister probable in the Congress.During the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign, Sharad Pawar had visited Thopte at his residence in Pune, and the latter had backed Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule from the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, of which Bhor assembly segment is a part. Bhor, which is located on the fringes of Pune city, is also being urbanised gradually. It is seeing the emergence of the urban, cosmopolitan and pro-BJP voter. The constituency also has a strong tribal pocket.advertisementSubscribe to India Today MagazineMust Watch
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