Pune: With election season underway, candidates from most constituencies across Pune city have now been declared. However, the Kothrud Assembly constituency has remained a topic of notable interest.

The BJP has nominated prominent leader Chandrakant Patil, while the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has put forward Kishor Shinde.

On the other hand, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction had not made an official announcement, fueling speculation over the past week.

Thackeray group leaders had assured the public that a candidate would be announced soon, leading to anticipation in the city.

In the Thackeray group’s internal discussions, former MLA Chandrakant Mokate and Prithviraj Sutar, leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT) faction in Pune Municipal Corporation, were both potential contenders for the Kothrud seat.

Consequently, much attention was on Uddhav Thackeray’s decision to select one of these two prominent leaders.

This afternoon, Uddhav Thackeray made an official announcement, nominating former MLA Chandrakant Mokate to represent the Thackeray group in the Kothrud Assembly constituency.

With this declaration, the stage is set for a highly contested three-way battle between Chandrakant Mokate (Shiv Sena UBT), Chandrakant Patil (BJP), and Kishor Shinde (MNS) in Kothrud.

Adding further prestige to the race, Pune’s Member of Parliament and Union Minister, Murlidhar Mohol, resides in the same constituency. This intensifies the competition and has drawn the keen focus of all major political stakeholders toward Kothrud.