While politicians often trade barbs, sometimes nasty and below the belt, it's rare to see them get creative with their taunts. This time, Shiv Sena leader Ravindra Dhangekar took a playful dig at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Navnath Ban by calling him 'Doreamon'. Ban did not hold back; he slammed with a "foolish Nobita" jibe in response.
Ban first slammed Dhangekar for targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah in connection with the Pune Jain Trust land deal. He said, "Dhangekar is not qualified to take a dig at Amit Shah. Dhangekar, you have been with 12 parties and then joined Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, if you target Shah, we will give you the same response."
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Dhangekar wrote, "Everything else is fine. First, tell me one thing. Who is this Doraemon..?"
Responding to him immediately, Ban commented, "Senior leader Ravindraji Dhangekar, who came to Shiv Sena after touring twelve parties, has called me ‘Doraemon’. But he forgot that Doraemon finds solutions. Helps people. There is a character named ‘Nobita’ in the same cartoon series. According to you, if I am ‘Doraemon’, you are the foolish ‘Nobita’."
Meanwhile, speculation is rife that Dhangekar is likely to quit Shiv Sena. He has also removed the mention of Shiv Sena from his X (formerly Twitter) header and written, “Punekar First. Satyameva Jayate.”
Dhangekar lost two consecutive elections
Dhangekar was elected to the Legislative Assembly as a Congress candidate from the Kasba Peth constituency in the bypoll held in 2023. However, he lost the seat in the 2024 Assembly polls as the BJP’s Hemant Rasane triumphed.
Before that, Dhangekar was defeated in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Pune after being given an opportunity by the Congress. He lost the Lok Sabha polls to the BJP’s Murlidhar Mohol.
He was first elected as a corporator of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on a Shiv Sena ticket. He followed Raj Thackeray after the formation of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and continued to get elected to the civic body. In 2017, he joined the Congress after being sidelined by the MNS.
