This story is from September 15, 2019

Devendra Fadnavis’ one-hour late arrival prompts ‘non-stop’ roadshow in Pune

Devendra Fadnavis’ one-hour late arrival prompts ‘non-stop’ roadshow in Pune
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ ‘Mahajanadesh Yatra’ at FC Road (left) and Hadapsar on Saturday
PUNE: Late arrival forced chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to rush through the city during his “Mahajanadesh Yatra” on Saturday evening despite BJP MLAs and corporators making massive preparations to accord a grand welcome to him, showing the party’s strength ahead of the state polls.
Fadnavis arrived at Hadapsar almost an hour after the scheduled time. The party’s city unit president, Madhuri Misal, and MP Girish Bapat welcomed him.
He then boarded the special open deck for the roadshow.
The rally breezed through seven assembly constituencies spread across the city, covering almost 45km. The chief minister’s convoy hardly stopped through the journey though the party workers gathered in large numbers along the route and at key chowks expecting the chief minister to briefly stop and address them.
The city traffic police had a tough time in managing the roadshow through the city’s major roads during rush hours. Barring a few spots like Hadapsar and Agriculture College Chowk, the traffic police largely managed to maintain the speed of the rally.
Before the rally, Misal said, “It is a huge event and has come as a major booster for the party workers, gearing up for the assembly elections. We have representation in all the eight seats in the city and expecting a similar outcome in forthcoming polls.”
The BJP had a clean sweep in the city in the 2014 assembly polls, winning all the eight seats. Before arriving in the city, Fadnavis held roadshows at Baramati, Bhigvan and Uruli Kanchan. Former Congress leader Harshvardhan Patil, who recently switched to the BJP, joined the rally.

Trupti Desai, MNS corporator detained
Bhumata Brigade founder and social activist Trupti Desai was detained by the city police on Saturday morning after she threatened to offer a garland of liquor bottles of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Desai was detained from her Sahakarnagar residence to maintain law and order in the city and taken to the Sahakarnagar police station.
Desai has been demanding “Darumukta Maharashtra (liquor-free Maharashtra)”. She had made correspondence with the state machinery seeking ban on liquor in the state. She had threatened to agitate during the Mahajanadesh Yatra in the city to press for her demand.
MNS corporator Vasant More was also detained by the Bharati Vidyapeeth police on Saturday morning. He wanted to submit a memorandum to the chief minister raising questions pertaining to the Hadapsar constituency.
Both were released at night.
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