More than a year after joining the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in June 2023, former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Bhagirath Bhalke visited Sharad Pawar at his Baramati home, Govindbaug, on Sunday, July 7. Now, he hopes to rejoin the NCP and run for the Pandharpur seat in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections.
Bhagirath Bhalke shared multiple photos from his meeting with Sharad Pawar on his Facebook page, claiming he accepted the elder leader's blessings. Bhagirath Bhalke is the son of Bharat Bhalke. Bharat Bhalke was a three-term member of parliament from the Pandharpur assembly constituency in Solapur district.
Following his death in November 2020, Bhagirath Bhalke was fielded by the NCP for the five-month by-elections. He lost narrowly to Samadhan Autade of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by 3,733 votes. Two years later, Bhagirath left the NCP, citing the party's failure to address voiced issues. He joined K. Chandrashekhar Rao's BRS but remained there for only about a year.
As per reports, Bhagirath met Pawar and urged him to nominate him for the Pandharpur assembly seat in the next elections. Insiders in the NCP (SP) state that Pawar promised Bhagirath he would discuss the matter with MVA allies and decide accordingly.
Recently, Sharad Pawar changed his stance on reaccepting dissident MLAs, saying he would accept politicians, but each case would be considered individually. Recently, on June 25, the NCP (SP) gave entry to BJP MP Suryakanta Patil into the party.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the Pawar-led NCP secured four of the eleven seats in Solapur district. Over the past ten years, the BJP has gained control of the region, which was an NCP stronghold until 2014. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP only secured two seats in Maharashtra.
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