Three rebel Congress leaders go independent

Kasba and Shivajinagar seats have been allocated to Congress, while the Parvati Assembly seat is given to NCP-SP

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Growing resentment among Congress leaders in Pune after being left out in ticket distribution for the Assembly polls has prompted three senior leaders—Aba Bagul, Kamal Vyavhare and Manish Anand—to file their nominations as independent candidates for key seats in the city. This discontent stems from seat-sharing issues within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

The first woman mayor of Pune, Vyavhare, will contest from the Kasba, while Anand will run from Shivajinagar and Bagul from Parvati. Notably, Kasba and Shivajinagar seats were allocated to Congress, with Ravindra Dhangekar and Datta Bahirat as the declared candidates, respectively. The Parvati Assembly seat was given to NCP-SP's Ashwini Kadam.

Bagul, who has been a councillor in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) for 40 years, also serving in several standing committees and as leader of the opposition in the corporation, is contesting as an independent candidate from the Parvati Assembly constituency.