Pune: Former BJP Leader Jagdish Mulik Campaigns for NCP’s Sunil Tingre Following MLC Assurance

Vadgaonsheri, 8th November 2024: Former Vadgaonsheri MLA and ex-BJP Pune City President Jagdish Mulik, who was on the brink of rebelling until the final moments of filing nominations, has now joined the campaign trail for Mahayuti’s candidate Sunil Tingre from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met with Mulik and reportedly assured him a Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) position. With this assurance, BJP members have set aside their previous objections and begun actively campaigning for Tingre.

The Vadgaonsheri constituency has been a topic of discussion for some time. In the Mahayuti alliance seat allocation, this constituency was assigned to the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. Given that Sunil Tingre is the incumbent MLA, his candidacy was almost guaranteed. However, former BJP MLC Jagdish Mulik initially resisted this decision, making concerted efforts to have the seat assigned to the BJP.

MLC Pankaja Munde was tasked with assessing the situation in the Vadgaonsheri constituency. During a meeting with Munde, local BJP leaders in Vadgaonsheri issued a firm warning: “If Mulik is not given the candidacy, we won’t campaign for Mahayuti.”

During Diwali, Fadnavis visited Pune and met with the concerned BJP leaders, including a visit to Mulik’s home, where he engaged with Mulik and his family. “On behalf of the party, you will be given a seat in the Maharashtra Legislative Council,” Fadnavis assured Mulik, effectively resolving his dissatisfaction.

Now fully engaged in the campaign, Mulik officially kicked off support for Sunil Tingre, Mahayuti’s candidate in Vadgaonsheri. Mulik stated, “Vadgaonsheri will have an MLA in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly with Tingre, and I will join the Maharashtra Legislative Council. This means Vadgaonsheri will have two representatives, bringing new opportunities for development to the constituency.”