Prashant Jagtap Joins Congress After Quitting NCP
Former Pune mayor quits NCP after 25 years, pitches MVA unity
- Ex Pune mayor Prashant Jagtap joins Congress
- Ends 25-year association with NCP (Sharad Pawar)
- Says his fight is against BJP, RSS and communal forces
- Hints at reshaping Pune’s political contest
GG News Bureau
Pune, 26th Dec: After weeks of suspense over his political future, former Pune mayor Prashant Jagtap on Wednesday joined the Congress, ending his 25-year association with the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction). He resigned from the primary membership of the NCP earlier in the day.
Jagtap was formally inducted into the Congress at the party’s Mumbai headquarters in Dadar in the presence of several supporters and party workers from Pune.
Sources said that Jagtap received offers from both the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) after news of his resignation broke. However, he chose the Congress, calling it the “closest ideological ally” of his former party.
“I have joined the Congress to take Gandhian ideology forward. My fight is against the BJP, the RSS and casteist and communal forces,” Jagtap said, adding that his decision was not driven by personal differences with the NCP leadership.
His exit comes amid recent political developments related to the reunion of the Pawar family in Pune, which sources said had created unease among several local NCP leaders. Jagtap admitted that the developments had triggered internal conflict over the past few weeks.
Targeting the ruling dispensation, Jagtap cited official data to allege governance failures, claiming that Pune tops Maharashtra in crime and that the state leads the country in crime and corruption.
With Jagtap’s entry into the Congress, Pune is expected to witness a multi-cornered political contest. While the principal fight is likely to be between the BJP and the now-united NCP factions, a third front could emerge under Jagtap’s leadership.
Reports also suggest that the Congress and UBT are close to finalising a seat-sharing arrangement in the city under the MVA banner, potentially reshaping local electoral equations.
Reiterating his commitment, Jagtap said he would remain with the Congress and urged opposition unity for the upcoming elections.
