Pune BJP leader Bapu Pathare set to join NCP (SP), contest from Vadgaon Sheri seat

“I will be contesting the Assembly elections and have decided to contest as an NCP(SP) candidate,” Pathare said on Monday, addressing citizens during his visit to a Ganesh pandal in Vadgaon Sheri. He added that voters had stood by him in the past and he was hoping that they would get him elected to the state Assembly again.

Pathare had recently met NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar and state party chief Jayant Patil had also visited his residence earlier. Though the NCP(SP) is yet to make any announcement on Pathare, the party is likely to field him against Tingre.

Pathare has also been skipping official BJP meetings. He was among the many local BJP leaders who did not attend a meeting called by leader Pankaja Munde last week to review the party’s preparation for the Assembly elections. Munde subsequently played down the issue, saying the leaders had some other commitments and had conveyed them to the party.

Local BJP leaders in Vadgaon Sheri have reportedly conveyed to the state leadership that they will not campaign if Tingre is picked as the NCP candidate for the Assembly seat, accusing Tingre of violating the alliance ‘rule’ of including all coalition leaders in publicity campaigns.

Last week, Samarjeet Ghatge left the BJP and joined the NCP(SP). He will now contest from the Kagal Assembly seat in Kolhapur and take on state minister Hasan Mushrif of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.