Chandrakant Patil confident of win in Pune graduates' seat, hits back at trolls

Voting began this morning for five Legislative Council seats in the state. Votes are being cast for the teachers' constituencies in Pune and Amravati. Polling is also under way for the three graduates' constituency seats in Pune, Amravati and Nagpur. Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil has expressed confidence of victory.

The Pune graduates' and teachers' constituency elections are held every six years. Voting here began at 8 am. Speaking to the media, Patil said he had come to Pune after taking stock of the situation in Kolhapur. He visited a polling centre here, met voters and also gave them roses.

According to Patil, all candidates have campaigned vigorously across the five districts of the Pune constituency. Both BJP candidates have a strong educational background. Smita Jadhav comes from a family engaged in public awareness work. She is the daughter of P.D. Patil and the granddaughter of D.Y. Patil. Kaustubh Gawade has a similar background. He runs 1,240 institutions and is himself highly educated. Patil therefore said the picture is clear and both candidates will win by a big margin.

Patil also replied to the trolls who ridicule his statements. He said the Gokul election had gone the way the Assembly election did. After the Lok Sabha polls, it had seemed that the party had not won 48 seats and had won only 17. But in the Assembly it won 237 seats, he said, citing this as an example. Patil said nobody can predict these elections, because democracy has now matured.

At the time of the Gokul election, it seemed people were ridiculing Patil's statement. But Patil said Rahul Gandhi also says his party will win all the seats. Citing Rahul Gandhi's example, he answered the trolls. He also said that some people cannot digest the fact that the son of a mill worker has risen in the state's politics. "I am not afraid of anyone, do we eat anyone's food?" Patil also said.

On his opponents, Patil said their defeat is now clear and that they have begun rehearsing what to say after losing. What will happen should be left to the voters. Sometimes one wins, sometimes one loses, but this time it will not be so, Patil said, expressing confidence of victory.