E-Paper
After win in Kasba Peth, Ravindra Dhangekar meets ailing BJP MP Girish Bapat
Bapat – a four-time member of the legislative assembly (MLA) from Kasba peth – had a strong hold over his constituency
Prioritising personal equations over political affiliations, Congress’s Ravindra Dhangekar who won the assembly by-poll to the Kasba peth constituency paid a visit to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Pune member of parliament (MP), Girish Bapat, to inquire after his health and seek his blessings. Bapat – a four-time member of the legislative assembly (MLA) from Kasba peth – had a strong hold over his constituency. Dhangekar himself had contested against Bapat twice and was defeated each time.
Dhangekar said, “As Bapat is not well, it was my wish to meet him. But if I had met him during the campaign, it would have sent out the wrong message. Chances are that the BJP leaders might have thought that Bapat is helping me. To avoid any such misunderstanding, I met him after the results to inquire after his health and seek his blessings.”
“Bapat had good relations with opposition parties. Although I contested against him, there was never any enmity between us. Rather, he used to guide everyone as a senior leader. This is Pune’s culture but the BJP leadership is not following it.”
“Bapat was a BJP candidate but he never used money for campaigning. This time, the BJP used money for campaigning which the voters did not like which is why they taught the party a lesson,” Dhangekar said.
Bapat on his part promised to help Dhangekar as the new MLA from Kasba peth constituency. Meanwhile, political leaders welcomed Dhangekar’s gesture and said this was the unique character of Pune city wherein political workers brushed aside political differences to meet each other after elections.
