Defeats BJP in its bastion. It was a BJP bastion till Ravindra Dhangekar pulled off an upset on Thursday. The 56-year-old Congress leader ended the ruling party’s three-decade hold on the Kasba Peth Assembly constituency in Maharashtra’s Pune district, his victory built on his superior network in the area and a united Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). He also benefitted from divisions within the BJP.
A former Shiv Sena worker who entered politics because of Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray, Dhangekar was a known loyalist of Raj Thackeray during his days in the Sena and later joined him in the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Dhangekar was elected as a corporator in the Pune Municipal Corporation during his stints in the Sena as well as the MNS. He is a four-time corporator.
As an MNS candidate, Dhangekar made his mark in Kasba Peth in the 2009 Assembly elections when he gave a tough fight to the then-incumbent legislator, Girish Bapat of the BJP, losing by just over 8,000 votes. Five years later, Dhangekar fared poorly and came third.
In 2017, Dhangekar left the MNS, feeling isolated in the party, and sided with the Congress after his attempts to join the BJP fell through. That year, he contested as an Independent in the Pune civic polls with the support of the Congress and defeated BJP heavyweight Ganesh Bidkar.
During the bypoll campaign, Dhangekar received support from sections of MNS workers on the ground even though the party declared support to the BJP and warned party workers against campaigning for the Congress leader. The Congress leader also benefitted from the differences within the BJP. The family members of former Pune Mayor Mukta Tilak, whose death necessitated the bypoll, were unhappy with the party fielding Hemant Rasne and overlooking them. Bapat, a four-time MLA who is now the MP from Pune, largely stayed away from the campaign because of illness while BJP corporator Dheeraj Ghate, who was among those who aspired for the ticket, was said to have been dejected after being ignored.
According to Dhangekar’s poll affidavit, his main sources of income are agricultural activities and a jewellery designing business, while his wife is in the real estate business. There are nine pending court cases against the newly elected MLA, with most of the accusations about him creating hurdles in government work. The Congress MLA and his wife jointly have Rs 1.15-crore worth of movable assets and immovable assets of Rs 7.19 crore.
Courtesy Indian Express