Pune City-Rural Becomes Completely Congress-Free
Pune : Pune, once considered a Congress stronghold, has now become completely Congress-free in both city and rural areas. In Saturday’s assembly election results, the party failed to win even a single seat. This marks a dramatic decline for the party in a district with 21 assembly constituencies and four Lok Sabha seats, where the old party now has no representation.
In the previous assembly, Congress held three seats in Pune district, including Sangram Thopte (Bhor), Sanjay Jagtap (Purandar), and Ravindra Dhangekar (Kasba Peth). However, this time all three incumbent MLAs lost their elections. This defeat highlights the declining influence of the party in an area that was once dominated by stalwarts like Mohan Dharia, Vitthalrao Gadgil, and Suresh Kalmadi. The party’s performance has declined not only in Pune but across Western Maharashtra, where its presence is now limited to a few isolated constituencies. Congress contested five seats out of 21 this time.
According to political observers, internal dissatisfaction has further weakened Congress’s campaign. Three prominent leaders – Aba Bagul (Parvati), Manish Anand (Shivajinagar), and Kamal Vyavhare (Kasba Peth) rebelled against official candidates, helping the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) win. Congress leaders have acknowledged this bitter reality. Senior party leader Arvind Shinde said, “We respect the voters’ mandate, although the results are disappointing. There are surprising results, even leaders like Balasaheb Thorat, Prithviraj Chavan, and Yashomati Thakur have lost. Now we need to focus on rebuilding the organization.”
In 2019, Congress had two MLAs from Pune district, and in the 2023 by-election, it even managed to win BJP’s stronghold Kasba Peth. This time, the Congress party lost all these seats. Congress leader Mohan Joshi said, “Our party has lost its representation in Pune, which is a serious setback. We need to introspect and build confidence within the party for upcoming local elections.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, another senior Congress leader emphasized the need for leadership change: “In other parties like BJP, NCP, Shiv Sena, and MNS, the third and young generation is being actively groomed for leadership roles. Every decade, they deliberately make room for new leaders. However, in Congress, the same old leaders dominate the city. It’s time for senior leaders to step back into advisory roles and pave the way for new leadership.”
According to political experts, Congress’s complete absence from Pune, once a Congress stronghold, is a significant indicator of its organizational and electoral decline. They said, “Now the challenge is to revive the party with new leadership and strategies to regain its foothold in the region.”
Performance of Rebels in Assembly Election 2024 :
Aba Bagul – 10,476 votes in Parvati
Manish Anand – 13,601 votes in Shivajinagar
Kamal Vyavhare – 552 votes in Kasba Peth
