Congress candidate from the Pune Lok Sabha seat, Ravindra Dhangekar, on Saturday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and accused it of not solving civic issues, despite having their MP, six MLAs and 100 corporators in the city. Dhangekar appealed to make Pune a 'happy city' by voting for the Congress party. He made these remarks at the beginning of the padayatra (foot march) in the Parvati Assembly Constituency.
Citizens welcomed the walk with great enthusiasm, cheering for Dhangekar at various places. Leaders of the Maha Vikas Agadhi (MVA) parties - Congress, NCP (SP), Shiv Sena (UBT) - participated in the procession in large numbers, and the flags of all three parties were hoisted.
The padayatra started with the inauguration of the election office at Munkud Nagar and traversed through Maharshi Nagar, Adinath Society, Satara Road, Market Yard, Agarwal Dairy, Salisbury Park, and ended at Gangadham Chowk.
Dhangekar will face off against BJP leader and former Pune mayor Murlidhar Mohol.
The voting in Pune is scheduled for May 13.
