Another blow to the BJP in Pune as its MP and stalwart leader Girish Bapat passes away

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Lok Sabha MP for Pune, Girish Bapat, passed away on March 29 after a long illness, at the age of 72. Mr. Bapat’s demise is the third major setback for the BJP in Pune district in less than four months.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Lok Sabha MP for Pune, Girish Bapat, passed away on March 29 after a long illness, at the age of 72.

He was admitted to the city’s Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital earlier today and put on life support after his health deteriorated, but succumbed soon after.

Mr. Bapat’s demise is the third major setback for the BJP in Pune district in less than four months; the party lost two influential leaders, then Kasba Peth MLA Mukta Tilak and its sitting Chinchwad MLA Laxman Jagtap in December 2022 and January this year, respectively.

Mr. Bapat, a former Maharashtra Cabinet Minister, made his political mark as a corporator in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in 1983.

Known as an astute leader who cultivated personal friendships across the political spectrum, Mr. Bapat held the tricky Kasba Peth Assembly segment for five consecutive terms for the BJP between 1995 and 2019.

In fact, such was Mr. Bapat’s hold over the Kasba Peth segment that his absence in the campaign during the by-poll last month severely hurt the BJP’s chances and resulted in the Congress (and MVA’s) candidate Ravindra Dhangekar wresting the seat from the BJP after nearly 30 years.

Mr. Bapat was a rare person who was well-loved and respected by politicians not just in his own party but the opposition as well, besides being regarded affectionately by people from a wide social spectrum.