Pune: Rebels within the BJP, faced with the denial of a ticket after the party published its first list on Sunday, have chosen to take a wait-and-watch stance in the run-up to the state assembly poll. The party had faced opposition from various quarters ahead of the declaration of tickets but has seemingly chosen not to entertain the brewing rebellion for now. Although many aspirants had demanded a ticket during the party's internal meetings, two former corporators and senior office-bearers in Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) have publicly raised objections to the candidacy of sitting MLAs of their constituencies — namely Shreenath Bhimale and Amol Balwadkar from the Parvati and Kothrud seats, respectively.
Bhimale announced, "I am not content with the party's decision to deny me a ticket. The future course of action will be decided after an interaction with party workers and my supporters." Similarly, Balwadkar said the selection of the candidate was "not proper".
"The process followed by the party was not transparent," he said, opposing the ticket to Chandrakant Patil, state cabinet minister and Kothrud MLA. Other aspirants are toeing the same line, saying that they have taken a stand against the declared candidates, not the party. They said they will consult not only their supporters but also the party high command before taking a final call on rebellion.
The same situation prevails in Chinchwad constituency, where former corporators Shatrughan Kate and Chandrakant Nakha.
