The Hindu : National / Elections 2004 : Two contenders and a dark horse

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Friday, Apr 16, 2004

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National - Elections 2004

Two contenders and a dark horse

Sudha Menon

Pune3

Maharashtra's cultural capital promises to throw up an interesting three-cornered fight between the sitting BJP MP, Pradeep Rawat, the Pune strongman and Congress-NCP candidate, Suresh Kalmadi, and the former IAS officer-turned-anti-corruption crusader, Arun Bhatia. A total of 28 candidates are in the fray from this city that is also a manufacturing hub.

When the city goes to the polls, however, it is expected to be a face-off between the low-profile Mr. Rawat, a former professor, and his more articulate opponent and Rajya Sabha MP, Mr. Kalmadi. The latter currently heads the Indian Olympics Association. Mr. Kalmadi has for years been `controlling' the action in the Pune Municipal Corporation. He also did his mite for the city while he was the Minister of State for Railways in the P.V. Narasimha Rao Government in 1995-96.

Though a traditional Congress stronghold barring a few occasions, the run-up to the nominations was tough for the NCP-Congress combine when the old Janata Dal hand and senior Maratha leader, Sambhajirao Kakde, threatned to contest against Mr. Kalmadi. He ended up canvassing for Mr. Kalmadi. Mr. Kalmadi is not exactly popular with the powerful Maratha community here as his arrival on the political scene ended their dominance over it. The Malis, the Brahmins and the Matangs are the other dominant communities but the last few years have seen a huge influx of people into the city, fuelled by its fast-paced industrial growth and the explosion of new economy businesses opportunities.

With the Congress-NCP reconciliation now official and Mr. Kalmadi having made up with his one-time mentor and Pune's big boss, Sharad Pawar, the Congress seems set to wrest the seat back from the BJP. In the 13 times that the city has witnessed Lok Sabha elections, the Congress has won eight times and the BJP twice, both times due to dissent and rift within the former. The one-time Congress heavyweight and AICC spokesperson, V.N. Gadgil, who won from here in 1980, 1984 and 1989 suffered a shock defeat in 1991 when rampant infighting in the Congress paved the way for the victory of the BJP's Anna Joshi.

The city has close to 16 lakh voters, comprising an estimated six lakh middle class and a similar number of slum dwellers and an upper middle class vote bank of two lakhs. The city's residents, especially the middle and upper middle class, have become increasingly dismayed by the downward spiral in the quality of life due to corruption and lethargy in the civic bodies. However, they have done little about it; in fact, about 50 per cent of the middle class did not vote last time.

While Mr. Kalmadi has promised to put development back on the agenda and to put the city on the "international map," cynics say that all he has managed during his tenure as Minister of State was to set up a now-redundant escalator at the railway station. His other gift, the extended Ganesh Festival extravaganza, critics insist, has done little for the average citizen. Mr. Kalmadi, however, has friends in the highest echelons of power and is a master organiser. A charismatic figure, he also enjoys support of the party rank and file.

Mr. Bhatia, the dark horse, is banking on support from the city's `thinking' classes and his reputation as an honest man ousted from office by political power brokers. He is promising to bring the city's Rs. 800 crore civic budget within citizen control, prioritised development and a transparent personal profile. The city, incidentally, has never voted an independent to power, a lesson Mr. Kalmadi learnt when he contested in 1995 as an Independent, with support from the Sena-BJP combine. As for Mr. Rawat, the BJP seems to pinning its hopes on the `India Shining' campaign that it says reflects how the common man is feeling under the Vajpayee-led Government.

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