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BJP shuts the door on Anna Joshi in Pune, nominates city chief instead

In a surprise development, the Bharatiya Janata Party's central leadership has cancelled the party ticket given to its senior leader and former MP Anna Joshi and nominated city unit president Pradeep Rawat from the prestigious Pune Lok Sabha constituency.

BJP state unit president Suryabhan Wahadane conveyed the party's decision to Pradeep Rawat this morning during his brief stopover at Pune en route to Satara.

The announcement of Rawat's candidature, which brought smiles on the faces of the party's city unit members who were on a sit-in agitation since Sunday, also came as a rude shock to Joshi and his supporters. c and even the procession had begun from the revered Kasba Ganapati temple this morning. Rawat, accompanied by party MLAs of the dissolved state assembly, had met senior leader L K Advani in Goa on Tuesday and had urged him to reconsider the central leadership's decision to field Joshi from Pune.

In his brief address to the party workers at the city office, Rawat today thanked the central leadership for reconsidering its decision and for the faith reposed in him. Rawat later said the alliance candidates for the three constituencies in the district and all the assembly constituencies would meet tonight and decide on the filing of nomination papers on Monday (August 23).

Rawat said he would meet Joshi personally to explain the situation to him.

Joshi, according to the rival camp, has rushed to Delhi on being summoned by the central leadership. A clash between the supporters of Joshi and those of Rawat was averted outside the city office in the morning soon after the news spread that Joshi had been replaced by Rawat. The police intervened when Joshi's supporters, who were squatting on the road, were locked in verbal dual with Rawat's followers. However, party's city unit spokesman denied any untoward incident outside the party office.

UNI

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