Sanjay Bhosale, a former corporator of the Shiv Sena (UBT) in Pune, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday. However, this didn't go down well with the party workers as they staged a protest against Bhosale in the Yerawada-Gandhinagar area.
Initially, a garland was offered to the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and then the Shiv Sena (UBT) workers stomped on the photos of Bhosale, calling him a "gaddar (traitor)."
Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Walhekar. who led the protest, said, “We have been working in the Yerawada area for the past 35 years and have taken the Shiv Sena to every household. Many Shiv Sena workers from this area have represented the party in the Pune Municipal Corporation, and Sanjay Bhosale is one of them. The party workers made him a corporator three times, but now, driven by greed for power, he has joined the BJP.
"If he had carried out development work in the ward during the last 15 years, he wouldn't have had to join the BJP today. Bhosale has wronged loyal party workers in every election so far, and now he has again wronged other aspiring candidates in the Mahayuti. Therefore, the people of the Yerawada-Gandhinagar area will surely show Bhosale his place in the upcoming elections," he added.
Meanwhile, along with Bhosale, Prithviraj Sutar, another former corporator of the Shiv Sena (UBT) joined the BJP on Tuesday.
With their exit, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party no longer has a single former corporator in Pune.