As the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA from Pimpri in Pune district and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar loyalist Anna Bansode has become the Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha), Pune will now hold posts of Deputy in both the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and Council.
Since no other candidate entered the fray, Bansode was elected unopposed.
For the uninitiated, the Council’s Deputy Chairperson, Neelam Gorhe, who belongs to the Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, is also from Pune.
Now, Pune has four ministers—Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Chandrakant Patil, Dattatrayya Bharne, and MoS Madhuri Misal—along with two deputies. Punekars are expecting more development in the city and district.
Bansode filed his nomination on Tuesday in the presence of his party chief, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil from BJP, and Shiv Sena’s Uday Samant.
महाराष्ट्र विधानसभेच्या उपाध्यक्ष पदी आमचे सहकारी आ. श्री. अण्णा बनसोडे यांची बिनविरोध निवड झाल्याबद्दल त्यांचे मन:पूर्वक अभिनंदन व पुढील कार्यास हार्दिक शुभेच्छा.@MLABansodeAnna#AnnaBansode #Vidhansabha #Maharashtra #BudgetSession2025 pic.twitter.com/aSwmRhLOJB
— Dhananjay Munde (@dhananjay_munde) March 25, 2025
Who is Anna Bansode?
Bansode is an MLA of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, from Pimpri. His name was finalized last week at a meeting attended by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (BJP), his deputies Ajit Pawar (NCP), and Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena).
Bansode is a close aide of Pawar and a three-time legislator from Pimpri in Pune district. A member of the Scheduled Castes, he was likely to be elected unopposed, considering Mahayuti’s overwhelming majority in the assembly, with no indication from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to field its nominee.
Even after opposition in the Pimpri constituency, Bansode was given candidacy by NCP due to his personal loyalty to Ajit Pawar. Sources say that during the 2019 rebellion staged by Ajit Pawar, Anna Bansode was the only MLA who remained with him 24/7 while all others left.
From Pan Tapri Owner To Maharashtra Assembly Deputy Speaker
Anna Bansode’s political journey began with the municipal elections. Before entering politics, he ran a pan shop. While working in this business, he became active in politics and contested the municipal elections in 1997, winning and becoming a corporator. He was re-elected in 2002 and also served as the chairperson of the Standing Committee during this period.
During this time, he became close to Ajit Pawar and is now considered a close associate. The place where his pan shop once stood is now his public relations office. In 2009, he contested and won the state assembly elections. However, he faced defeat in 2014.
He was denied a ticket in 2019 but later received an AB form from the party.
He defeated the NCP-SP’s Sulakshna Shilwant from the same seat in 2024.
