The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) has again fielded Hemant Rasane from the Kasba Assembly constituency for the upcoming assembly elections. Rasane had contested the Kasba byelections against current Congress MLA Ravindra Dhangekar in 2023; however, Dhangekar secured 73,309 votes and was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). Dhangekar secured 52.98 per cent votes, while Rasane secured 45.09 per cent votes in 2023 byelections.
MLA Ravindra Dhangekar has been declared as the Congress candidate from Kasba while the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has fielded Ganesh Bhokre. Hence Kasba is set to witness a triangular battle between Dhangekar, Rasane and Bhokre in the upcoming elections.
Kasba which is known as a stronghold of the BJP was lost to the Congress in the 2023 bypolls after the demise of BJP MLA Mukta Tilak. In 2019, Tilak swept the Kasba constituency and secured a comfortable win by securing 75,492 votes against Congress Candidate Arvind Shinde. However, Dhangekar was successful in snatching the constituency from the clutches of the BJP in the 2023 bypolls.
The Brahmin community insisted the BJP field a Brahmin candidate from Kasba; however, the party has once again decided to field Hemant Rasna. Will the social fabric of the Kasba; assembly constituency once again support Ravindra Dhagekar, or will Rasna get an edge over Congress will completely depend on the votes bagged by MNS candidate Gabesh Bhokre.