Despite cooling his heels in the jail, Congress leader Suresh Kalmadi’s clout in Pune politics cannot be ruled out due to his strong supporter base, senior Congress party members say. According to sources, in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections he will have a direct say in finalising candidates.
“Though he is in jail, he had finalised the list of candidates for Pune Municipal Corporation. Most of the existing corporators are Kalmadi followers. So his say will play an important role in Lok Sabha election too,” said a senior party leader from Pune.
According to a source from MPCC, the NCP may demand the Pune Lok Sabha constituency from the Congress. However, the decision will be taken in a meeting of both party leaders later in September. The source also claimed that the party had many aspirants for Pune constituency. Congress MLA Vinayak Nimhan and MLC Mohan Joshi are reportedly strong claimants to the seat.
Meanwhile, the party is also worried about lack of first rank leaders for its election campaign. Sources said all responsibility has now come to state party president Manikrao Thakare and chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, but they cannot be everywhere when the campaign is at its peak. However, the source said that 10 Janpath might have a solution soon.