Daijiworld Media Network - Pune

Pune, Jan 2: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has withdrawn the candidature of Pooja More-Jadhav for the Pune civic polls following strong opposition from party workers after old videos of her surfaced on social media.

More-Jadhav had earlier received the BJP’s AB form for ward number 2 under the quota allotted to alliance partner Republican Party of India (RPI). However, her nomination ran into controversy after videos allegedly showing her making personal remarks against Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his wife during the Maratha reservation agitation went viral.

Confirming the development, Union minister and BJP’s Pune MP Murlidhar Mohol said that her candidature has been withdrawn in view of the backlash within the party.

Reacting to the decision, More-Jadhav claimed she had become a victim of social media trolling. “There was a systematic attempt to spread misinformation about me and portray that I do not believe in the BJP’s ideology. Considering the extent of trolling, I consciously decided to withdraw my nomination,” she said.

She further asserted that the controversial remarks were made by “some other girl” and were wrongly attributed to her by trolls.

The incident has triggered discussions within political circles on candidate scrutiny and the growing influence of social media content in electoral politics.