It's straight fight in Pimpri

PUNE: The peculiar feature of the contest in the Pimpri, the only reserved assembly constituency in the Pimpri-Chinchwad township, is that there are no rebels in the fray.
The main contest here is between Anna Bansode of the NCP and Amar Sable of the BJP. However, at least two other candidates Chandrakant Sonkamble of the Republican Party of India (A) and Manav Kamble of Janata Dal (S) are likely to make an impact on the results.
Created after the delimitation exercise, the Pimpri constituency has been reserved for candidates belonging to the scheduled castes.Under the Maval Lok Sabha constituency, Pimpri is the heart of the twin township which is witnessing a transformation. The increasing urbanisation has brought to the fore a number of civic problems, including public transport, health and housing for the poor, water supply, industrial pollution and other basic civic amenities like vegetable markets, parking spaces and proper development of roads. With 60 slums, Pimpri has a large number of slum population. The slum-dwellers form around 35 per cent of the total voters in the constituency. The constituency also has a large number of Sindhis living in Pimpri camp.
Unlike most other constituencies, where the names of candidates were announced just before filing of nominations, in Pimpri, the names were announced much earlier. Anna Bansode, former chairman of the standing committee of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, was the favourite in the NCP to get nominated. In fact, Bansode had started campaigning much before the elections were formally announced. The fact that majority of corporators from the total 37 wards of Pimpri are from the NCP can be an advantage for Bansode. With a significant number of voters staying in slums, one of the priority issues for Bansode is implementing slum welfare schemes as well as providing economical houses to them under various schemes.
BJP's Amar Sable's candidature was also announced in the early stages of the election. Said to be a staunch loyalist of BJP leader Gopinath Munde, Sable said he would be working for rehabilitation of slum-dwellers. The farmers, whose land has been acquired by the Pimpri-Chinchwad New Township Development Authority need to be compensated by returning 12.5 per cent land to them. Sable added that he would be focusing on measures for reducing pollution of the Pavana river and reducing the damage caused due to flooding of the river. Increasing crime and corruption, legal approval to the land where the Sindhi community has settled in Pimpri camp are other priorities, he said.
For corporator Chandrakanta Sonkamble of RPI(A), providing slum-dwellers a tenement of at least 500 sq.ft. is the key issue. "Efforts will be made to attract industries to Pimpri-Chinchwad so that new job opportunities are created. We will work to ensure that the stipulated quota of food items are given to the people through ration shops. We will try to open government colleges in the constituency so that the students can get higher education at affordable cost," she said.
JD(S) candidate and social activist Manav Kamble said slum rehabilitation, returning of 12.5 per cent land to farmers whose lands were acquired by the PCNTDA, irregularities and corruption in civic projects are the issues that he would be focusing upon. He said that providing basic health and education, solving the problem of unauthorised constructions are the other important issues which need to be tackled.
Other candidates in the fray include Rajendra Gaikwad (Bahujan Samaj Party), Devendra Tayde (RPI Bahujan Mahasangh) and Vanita Shelar (Prabuddha Republican Party). The independents include former corporator Vishwas Gajarmal, K K Kamble, Kamble B.K., Tarabai Gaikwad, Babasaheb Gaikwad, Sham Ghodke, Shyamala Sonawane, Sanjay Jagtap and Harshavardhan Meshram.