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Sapkal says Congress will rebuild as Sanjay Jagtap joins BJP
Sapkal also took a sharp dig at the BJP, accusing it of trying to hollow out Congress by poaching its leaders
Days after stepping down as the Pune district president of the Congress, former MLA Sanjay Jagtap on Wednesday officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at Saswad in the presence of Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan. Jagtap, who represented the Purandar assembly constituency in the past, was accompanied by his supporters.
Speaking to the media earlier, Jagtap said his followers had unanimously agreed that joining the BJP was the best course to address developmental issues in the constituency.
Reacting to Jagtap’s defection, Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal took a sharp dig at the BJP, accusing it of trying to hollow out Congress by poaching its leaders.
“The BJP behaves like a witch, stealing leaders from our party. They claim to have charismatic leadership at the Centre and in the state. The chief minister acts like he is Superman. But instead of building their own leaders, they give our people tickets and positions,” Sapkal said.
He added that the Congress is a party of ideology and workers, not one that revolves around individual leaders.
“Those who leave the party are doing so to protect their personal interests or institutions. We do not stop anyone. Even our workers say that if leaders can quit over perceived injustice, then similar injustice is faced by grassroots workers too. We’ve given people the post of chief minister, and still, they walk away,” Sapkal said.
He acknowledged that the party currently has no MLAs in Pune city or district, but expressed confidence about making a comeback in 2029. “We will rise again with the support of workers and our commitment to ideology,” he said.
Jagtap’s exit has caused a significant dent to Congress, which doesn’t have a single MLA in the Pune district.
