The Pune City Congress Committee faced a challenging day as former Deputy Mayor and senior party leader Ulhas (Aba) Bagul escalated his protest against MLA Ravindra Dhangekar's candidacy for the Pune Loksabha elections. Bagul, along with his supporters, staged a silent protest at the Congress Bhavan compound by lighting a thousand candles.
Bagul's supporters wore black t-shirts and displayed placards demanding justice for party loyalists. Bagul, a veteran corporator in the Pune Municipal Corporation for nearly 30 years, publicly expressed his discontent, alleging that the state party leadership had treated Congress loyalists in Pune unfairly.
Speaking to LokmatTimes.com, Aba Bagul said, "We are going to arrange a Nyaya Sangharsh Yatra for the loyalists with the aim that no injustice should be done to any Congress loyalist in the future, and this issue should be taken seriously at the party level. Through this initiative, we will convey the sentiments of the loyalists to the party leaders. The Nyaya Sangharsh Yatra of these loyalists will begin at the city level in Pune and extend to the state level in the future. This will foster unity for the growth of the Congress party."
Bagul's stance could pose a challenge for the Congress, given his significant voter base in the Parvati assembly constituency. Pacifying Bagul will be a daunting task for the city leadership and Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar in Pune, as his negative stance could substantially impact the party's vote share.