Pune: The Pune Congress’s bid to convince three of its rebel leaders in Pune to pull out of the Maharashtra Assembly elections failed as they refused to withdraw their nominations on Monday, the last day to do so. The party is now likely to take action against these leaders.

The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance is facing a rebellion in the Shivajinagar, Parvati and Kasba Peth seats in Pune. The Congress is contesting two of the three seats, and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), the third.

In Kasba Peth, former mayor Kamal Vyavahare has filed her nomination even though the Congress has fielded sitting MLA Ravindra Dhangekar, who had snatched the seat from the BJP for the first time in three decades in the bypoll held last year.

While Congress leader Aba Bagul, the incumbent vice-president of the party, has filed his nomination from Parvati, Manish Anand, the former vice-president of the Khadki Cantonment Board, has filed his nomination papers from the Shivajinagar Assembly seat.

Earlier, Arvind Shinde, president of the Pune City Congress, had said that efforts were underway to get the rebels to withdraw from the fray. “From MPCC chief Nana Patole to Congress Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala to former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, all of them have spoken to the rebels and urged them to withdraw. So far, the rebels are in no mood to withdraw. But before 3 pm, we are confident they will,” Shinde had said.

“Only Shinde came to my office for five minutes. We did not meet. No other Congress leader has contacted me...I am firm on contesting the seat. It will be a friendly fight,” Bagul said.