As leaders of all major parties in Maharashtra worked on Thursday to persuade rebels to withdraw from the assembly elections and avoid electoral divisions that could lead to defeat, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar met the independent candidate Nana Kate from Chinchwad assembly seat in Pune district. urging him to withdraw from the race. However, Kate remained resolute in her decision to run.

Despite efforts by Ajit Pawar’s NCP to secure the constituency in the seat-sharing deal, the BJP claimed the Chinchwad Assembly seat and fielded Pimpri-Chinchwad party chief Shankar Jagtap. His sister-in-law, Ashwini Jagtap, is currently an MP. Meanwhile, the NCP (SP) fielded Rahul Kalate, while former NCP leaders Nana Kate and Bhausaheb Bhoir declared their intention to contest as independent candidates.

Chinchwad constituency at a glance

The ruling alliance, known as Mahayuti, includes the Nationalist Congress Party, the BJP and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. The deadline to withdraw nominations is November 4 and the results of the 288-member assembly will be announced on November 23.

Laxman Jagtap had held the Chinchwad seat since 2009. After his death in 2023, a bypoll was conducted which resulted in his wife, Ashwini Jagtap, being nominated by the BJP. Nana Kate contested against her but was unsuccessful.

Recently, reports surfaced that Ajit Pawar had proposed to the BJP to swap Chinchwad for another seat in the state. He reportedly presented this offer to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and mentioned that if the issue remained unresolved at the state level, he would visit Delhi to discuss it with the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah. However, this plan did not materialize and the seat remained with the BJP.