Jolt to Cong in Pune? Sulking leader Bagul meets Fadnavis in Nagpur

Congress leader and former deputy mayor Aba Bagul met Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis and the party’s state unit president Chandrashekhar Bawankule at Nagpur on Monday, leading to speculations of his switch to the saffron party.

After the Congress denied him Lok Sabha nomination, Bagul has been upset since past few weeks. Bagul joining the BJP may cause a setback for the Congress and its Pune candidate Ravindra Dhangekar.

Bagul is one of the well-known faces in Sahakarnagar and Parvati assembly constituency.

Sources said that the BJP leadership gave Bagul assurance of political position if he prefers to join the party. While Bagul did not wish to comment, those who accompanied him confirmed the meeting.

Earlier, when his party denied him LS ticket, Bagul carried out a silent march to the Congress Bhavan. He expressed disappointment for giving ticket to those who joined the party recently, indicating that Dhangekar joined the Congress in 2019, got ticket for assembly bypolls, and within a few months was also nominated for LS polls

Bagul at that time had blamed the Congress saying, “I am working for the party in Pune since last four decades. Instead of preferring us, the Congress had chosen the candidate who joined the party recently.”

In the Pune Congress circles, Bagul was known as a close aid of former MP and leader Suresh Kalmadi.

Like Kalmadi, Bagul also started the popular Pune Navratri Mahotsav in city. He also launched free Kashi Yatra for senior citizens two decades ago that was followed by many politicians later.

Meanwhile, the BJP local unit said that they are unaware about the recent development at Nagpur.