Know your constituency: The big fight in Chinchwad

Continuing the series to help voters make an informed decision, mid-day examines the political dynamics and candidates in the Chinchwad constituency, where it’s a fight between the incumbent MLA and everyone else

2014 candidates
Kailas Kadam (Congress), Laxman Jagtap (BJP), Nana Kate (NCP), Rahul Kalate (Shiv Sena), Anant Korhale (MNS)

Constituency history
One of the three constituencies of the NCP’s bastion, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Chinchwad was formed out of the Haveli constituency in the 2009 delimitation. During the Congress-NCP alliance, Chinchwad was with the Congress. However, in 2009, Laxman Jagtap contested as an independent and won, defeating official candidates of the alliance. This time, the sitting MLA is contesting on a BJP ticket. The issue of regularisation of illegal construction in the area  will be a key factor in this election.

Sitting MLA:
Laxman Jagtap (Independent)

Local dynamics
It looks like a Jagtap versus others for this constituency. The NCP has fielded Nana Kate, a close aide of Ajit Pawar, and is trying to upset Jagtap’s calculations by challenging him in his stronghold areas such as Pimple Gurav, Pimple Saudagar, Sangvi and Navi Sangvi. Wary of the infighting in his party, in a recent meeting, Ajit Pawar had reportedly warned corporators of dire consequences if the NCP candidate lost from this seat.

The Shiv Sena has fielded Rahul Kalate, a close aide of MP Shrirang Barne, who had given a tough fight to Jagtap in 2009, losing by a meagre margin of 6,575 votes. While the Sena and the Congress have a party base in this constituency, they don’t seem strong enough to win the seat on their own.

With its four corporators, the MNS has fielded Anant Korhale. However, according to experts, the party is not considered a major player in this constituency, as Raj Thackeray had flip-flopped on the issue of illegal construction projects during the Lok Sabha campaign a few months ago.

4,78,192 Total number of voters in the constituency

Number of Voters 78,741

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