Shiv Sena's 'operation tiger' in Pune; former Congress MLA Dhangekar to join Eknath Shinde's party

PUNE: Shiv Sena's operation continues as former Congress MLA from Pune, Ravindra Dhangekar, is set to join Eknath Shinde's party after quitting Congress.
Dhangekar announced that he met with Shinde and cabinet minister Uday Samant before finalising his decision to switch over to Shiv Sena.
Dhangekar, who started his political career as a Shiv Sena worker in Pune in the late 90s, is set to return to the same party. While he did not make any critical remarks about the Congress party, which he quit, the former Kasba Peth MLA said that he wants to be in a party that is in the govt so that he could help the people of his constituency to get their work done.
"I feel sad to leave Congress as everyone in the party supported me. When I contested the assembly and later Lok Sabha, every Congress member campaigned for me.
I thank them all, and I do not want to blame anyone. However, my supporters and voters from the constituency were of the opinion that I should be in a party that is in the govt, and therefore, respecting their sentiments, I have decided to join Shiv Sena," Dhangekar said on Monday.
Dhangekar came to the limelight after he won the bypoll election in 2023 from the Kasba Peth assembly seat, which was a stronghold of BJP. After becoming an MLA, he carried out various agitations in the city in an aggressive manner. Last year, he contested the Pune Lok Sabha seat and later the Kasba assembly seat on a Congress ticket, but he lost both elections.
During the second term of the Mahayuti govt, Shiv Sena is looking to spread the party's base, for which it has started 'Operation Tiger' to induct some members of other parties into their party. Cabinet minister and Shiv Sena member Uday Samant has taken the lead for it, and during his recent visit to Pune, he met Dhangekar, where discussions about his entry to Shiv Sena took place.
"I had a few meetings with Eknath Shinde and Uday Samant. They insisted I join Shiv Sena. After discussing with my supporters and common people from my constituency, I realised that unless you are in the govt, it is difficult to execute the work, and therefore, I have taken this decision," Dhangekar said.
After joining Shiv Sena as a party worker, Dhangekar contested the Pune Municipal Corporation election in 2002 and won that election. However, when Raj Thackeray left Shiv Sena and formed MNS, Dhangekar also joined him. He again contested the PMC election in 2007, but this time on an MNS ticket and won that poll also. After spending nearly a decade in Raj Thackeray's party, Dhangekar switched to Congress in 2017.
Contesting the high-octane bypoll in 2023, where Mahayuti and MVA both alliances put their all might behind the candidates, Dhangekar managed to defeat BJP's Hemant Rasane.
Incidentally, in the 2024 assembly polls, Dhangekar faced defeat at the hands of Rasane within a couple of years of winning the bypoll. Now, after joining Shiv Sena, Dhangekar will have to work in coordination with his erstwhile opponents, BJP MLA Rasane, Lok Sabha MP and minister of state Murlidhar Mohol, and other BJP members from Pune.
According to political observers, Dhangekar's entry into Shiv Sena will give a boost to the party in Pune district ahead of the civic elections, which are expected to be held this year. Before Dhangekar, the MLA from Junnar, Sharad Sonawane, also joined Shiv Sena recently, and with these entries in Sena, the party will be hoping to gain some strength in Pune district.