Former NCP-SP Pune City Chief Prashant Jagtap joined the Congress on Friday in the presence of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) President Harshwardhan Sapkal at Tilak Bhavan in Mumbai’s Dadar. Several office-bearers of the NCP-SP from Pune also switched over to the Congress along with Jagtap.
Speaking after joining the party, Jagtap said the Congress is a 135-year-old organisation with a strong ideological foundation, adding that he joined to carry forward the ideas of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. "My fight is against casteism and corruption, and today, only the Congress can challenge the BJP," he added.
Jagtap quit the NCP-SP on Tuesday after opposing the party's plan to align with the Ajit Pawar-led faction for civic polls in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad.
Before Jagtap joined the Congress, he reportedly received calls from both Shiv Sena factions. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde both called Jagtap, urging him to join their respective parties. However, Jagtap reportedly told them that he believes in the ideology of the Congress and would therefore join the party.
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Meanwhile, while welcoming Jagtap into the party, Sapkal said the party committed to an ideological struggle. "Some political parties today focus only on power and money to win elections. People usually salute the rising sun, but Jagtap has joined the Congress for ideological reasons," Sapkal added.
Leader of the Congress Legislature Party Vijay Wadettiwar said Jagtap refused to align with "communal forces" and chose the Congress without compromising on ideology. "Several offers were made to Jagtap, but he remained committed to progressive values. If such leaders stand with us, 2029 will be ours," Wadettiwar added.
A firebrand leader, Jagtap remained with Sharad Pawar after the split in the NCP, saying he believed in the veteran leader’s progressive values. He led and organised various protests in the city over the last three years against the ruling Mahayuti.
A former mayor of Pune and a two-time corporator of the NCP, he unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Assembly polls on an NCP-SP ticket from the Hadapsar constituency against NCP’s Chetan Tupe. Tupe secured 1.34 lakh votes, while Jagtap trailed with 1.27 lakh votes.
(With inputs from PTI)
