I will complete my husband’s projects, promises Harshada Wanjale

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate for the Khadakwasla by-election, Harshada Wanjale, on Tuesday said if elected, her prime focus would be to complete the unfinished work of her late husband, Ramesh.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) MLA from that constituency passed away in June this year. His widow is contesting on the NCP ticket, although she was requested by the MNS leaders to contest as their candidate.

The by-election would take place on October 13.

Harshada told DNA, “My husband had started many projects for public welfare under the MLA-at-your-doorstep project. If the electorate elects me, I would complete them. I will take up special projects like concretisation of village roads and other infrastructure projects in my constituency.”

She oozed confidence that she would win with a majority of 50,000 votes.

The coalition of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shiv Sena and the Republican Party of India (RPI) has fielded BJP’s sitting corporator from the Pune Municipal Corporation, Bhimrao Tapkir. Former Congress MLA Shrirang Chavan has also filed his nomination as an independent candidate.

What is surprising is that Harshada is maintaining a stoic silence on why she chose to contest as a candidate of the NCP, rather than the MNS. She was a Pune zilla parishad member from the Congress and recently resigned to contest the Khadakwasla by-poll.

Ramesh had approached the NCP initially for a ticket during the 2009 assembly election, but the party had ignored him. But his victory in the polls took NCP bigwigs by surprise. Moreover, after his demise, the gathering of the people for his final rites forced the leaders of different parties to sit up and take a serious note of the matter.

“When Ramesh was alive, the clout of the MNS in that constituency was growing. Khadakwasla area comes under Baramati constituency of Supriya Sule and had made many in the NCP anxious,” claimed MNS leaders.

In winning over Harshada, the NCP has managed to control the growth of another party in Sule’s backyard. Harshada’s political  detractors argued that  deserting the party her husband belonged to would affect her poll prospects.

However, Harshada negated it saying she will win the polls hands down.