BJP's Sanjay Kakde Joins NCP; Son Vikram To Contest Pune MLC Poll

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sanjay Kakde and his son Vikram joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Monday in the presence of the party's Rajya Sabha MP, Parth Pawar. The development came after Vikram Kakde's name was finalised for the upcoming Pune MLC election.

According to information received, the decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar that continued for nearly five hours. The meeting, attended by Sanjay Kakde, began around 8.30pm on Sunday and concluded at about 1.30am.

There was speculation that former MLA Sunil Tingre would be nominated for the Pune MLC election. However, the party eventually decided to field Vikram Kakde, who is said to be close to Parth Pawar.

Vikram Kakde's name had also been doing the rounds for the MLC polls earlier. However, the NCP eventually chose Zeeshan Siddique.

Reportedly, Vikram Kakde has a background in competitive shooting. He trained at the Gun for Glory Shooting Academy, founded by Olympian Gagan Narang, and has competed at the national level, including winning a gold medal in the double trap event at the G. V. Mavlankar Shooting Championship in 2013.

He is also associated with infrastructure and real estate businesses in Pune through family-run enterprises.