Know Your Constituency: The big fight in Vadgaon Sheri

In our series to help voters make an informed decision, mid-day examines the political dynamics and candidates in Vadgaon Sheri, where traffic congestion, water supply and BRTS failure are the main issues faced by residents

2014 candidates
Jagdish Mulik (BJP), Bapusaheb Pathare (NCP), Chandrakant Chhajed (Congress), Dr Siddharth Dhende (RPI), Sunil Tingre (Shiv Sena) and Narayan Galande (MNS)

Constituency history
Vadgaon Sheri constituency was formed in 2009 after the split of Bopodi constituency. The constituency consists of parts of Bopodi, Lohgaon, Manjari, Dighi and the upscale Nagar road area, Vimannagar, Yerawada and Kalyaninagar. NCP’s Bapu Pathare won with a whopping margin of 33,116 votes in 2009, defeating Shiv Sena’s Ajay Bhosale.

Local dynamics
With Pathare’s win in 2009, senior Congress leader Chandrakant Chhajed’s political career had almost come to an end. However, with the recent alliance split up, Congress and Chhajed’s supporters rejoiced. With Congress’ traditional votes and support from the Bopodi area from where he won two times in 1999 and 2004, Chhajed is expected to give a tough time. However, defying the alliance with the BJP, local RPI (A) leader and corporator Dr Siddharth Dhende is also contesting and is expected to eat into Congress’ votes. MNS candidate Galande, along with Sunil Tingre, who defected to Shiv Sena, are both dominant in their localities. Pathare is also facing dissent from within the party with allegations of promoting his own family members into politics. During Lok Sabha elections, the BJP got a substantial and unexpected lead in this area due to which BJP candidate Mulik is confident of an upset this time. Challenging the ‘water tanker mafia’ operating in the region, Congress, RPI and BJP have made the inadequate water supply problem an election issue, apart from the poorly implemented BRTS.

3,97,158 Total number of voters in the constituency

Number of Voters 72,034

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