3 min readPuneMay 21, 2026 05:37 PM IST
First published on: May 21, 2026 at 05:36 PM IST
In a bid to revive the party in Maharashtra, the Congress on Thursday effected a change of guard in Pune city by appointing firebrand leader and former mayor Prashant Jagtap as the party president in the city, along with former legislator Deeptie Chawadary.
The changes were part of one of the Maharashtra Congress’s biggest reshuffles in decades. The party appointed 69 organisational district presidents in a bid to revitalise the party at the grassroots level ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.
While Jagtap will be in charge of Pune City East, Chawadary will head Pune City West. Pune Rural North will be led by Kamlakar Satav and Pune Rural South by Lahu Nivangune. Narendra Bansode has been appointed Congress chief in the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.
Jagtap’s appointment came as a surprise, as he joined the Congress only in January this year after quitting the NCP (SP), citing ideological differences over its alliance with the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar, a BJP ally. Jagtap, then the city unit chief of the NCP (SP), had stood by Sharad Pawar after the party split, even as most leaders joined Ajit Pawar’s faction.
“Jagtap’s appointment as city Congress chief is a welcome step for the party in Pune, which was once a Congress bastion. Jagtap has proved that he cannot compromise on the ideology of secularism by quitting the Sharad Pawar-led NCP. The Congress leadership is firm on its ideology of secularism,” said Congress leader Ramesh Iyer.
He added that restructuring the city unit would help revive the party at the grassroots, with two presidents focusing on their respective areas. “Chawadary’s appointment is also a good decision, considering she is from the OBC community and a woman. With upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections expected to have 50 per cent reservation for women, the Congress has sent a message in Pune that men and women leaders are on equal footing. It has also underscored community representation, with Jagtap from the dominant Maratha community and Chawadary from the OBC category,” Iyer said.
While quitting the NCP (SP), Jagtap had said he would contest the civic polls against the BJP. “I have been with the NCP and then NCP (SP) for 26 years, six months and 14 days under Sharad Pawar’s leadership since 1996. I worked under Ajit Pawar and Supriya Sule, rising from grassroots worker to local unit president. I was indebted to them. I became mayor of the city because of them,” Jagtap had said, attributing his political growth to the Pawar family.
Jagtap had said he had stood by Sharad Pawar because of his loyalty to the veteran leader and his upbringing in a diverse society with “all communities”. He had also said that it was wrong for him to ally with a party he had contested against, as it would affect his image and damage his credibility among supporters and voters.
Chawadary is a former legislator and was also mayor of the city during the Congress regime in the Pune civic body in the past.
Pune Congress leaders have praised the appointments of former mayor Prashant Jagtap (left) and former legislator Deeptie Chawadary (standing next to him), saying it is a 'welcome move'. (File photo) 
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