Pimpri: In a significant political development, former corporator Sandeep Kaspate has resigned from the primary membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in protest against the leadership style of city president Shankar Jagtap.
In his resignation letter to state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Kaspate accused the party of sidelining loyal workers and promoting dynastic politics within the Chinchwad Assembly constituency.
Kaspate, who won his first election on a BJP ticket in the 2017 municipal polls from the Pimple Nilakh-Wakad ward, has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with Jagtap’s approach for some time.
He expressed concerns that dedicated workers were being neglected in favor of political favoritism, and influential members were being deliberately weakened. Despite the significant efforts made by workers to secure victory for Ashwini Jagtap in recent by-elections, they were sidelined when it came to important decisions.
In his resignation letter, Kaspate criticized Jagtap for deliberately excluding powerful former councilors from key roles within the party's executive committee. He also pointed out that democracy had taken a backseat to dynastic politics within the Chinchwad Assembly constituency.
Kaspate stated that he was frustrated with the autocratic leadership style and could no longer support it. He further claimed that around 15 other former councilors are preparing to leave the party due to similar grievances.
This development follows growing factionalism within the Pimpri-Chinchwad BJP unit. Recently, other prominent leaders from the Chinchwad Assembly constituency, including Tushar Kamthe, Maya Barne, and Kailas Barne, resigned from the BJP and joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after being sidelined despite the BJP’s hold over the municipal corporation.
