Pimpri-Chinchwad: The Pimpri-Chinchwad area saw a fierce battle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ahead of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC)
elections, which concluded with results on 16th January. In particular, the late Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and the BJP's Bhosari MLA, Mahesh Landge, engaged in a fierce battle.
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However, on 28th January, a shocking report emerged that left everyone stunned: Ajit Pawar and four others had died in a private aircraft crash in Baramati. Since then, all political clashes have faded into the background, with leaders across the spectrum coming together to fondly remember Ajit Pawar and his legacy.
The same sentiment was witnessed in Pimpri-Chinchwad city on Friday, when MLA Mahesh Landge organised an all-party condolence meeting for the late Deputy Chief Minister at the Prof. Ramkrushna More Auditorium in Chinchwad. When invited to speak about the beloved “Dada” on stage, MLA Landge appeared visibly emotional and said only, “Ajit Dada, please forgive me,” before stepping down and allowing other dignitaries to express their grief.
A video of MLA Landge seeking forgiveness during a memorial service for “Ajit Dada” in Pimpri-Chinchwad has recently gone viral on social media. Everybody witnessed the heated exchange of allegations and counter-allegations between Landge and Ajit Pawar during the PCMC elections -- which became a major topic of discussion. However, Mahesh Landge’s actions today demonstrated that those allegations were strictly limited to the election period.
A memorial service was organised in Pimpri-Chinchwad to pay tribute to Ajit Pawar. During the event, the moderator requested MLA Mahesh Landge to come onto the stage and say a few words about Ajit Dada. Landge approached the stage, bowed before the portrait of Ajit Dada, and then stood before the podium to speak.
He addressed the gathering, saying, “Grieving brothers and sisters, this day has come into all of our lives with a heavy heart. On behalf of everyone present, on behalf of my own Landge family, and on behalf of all the citizens of Pimpri-Chinchwad, I offer my heartfelt tribute to Dada… and Dada, please forgive me.”
After paying tribute on behalf of everyone, he uttered only that one sentence, “Dada, please forgive me,” and left the stage. The video captures him becoming visibly emotional during this moment.
Many on social media have praised Mahesh Landge for this gesture. Reactions online suggest that people were touched by the fact that, despite extreme political differences in the past, he chose to humbly and publicly apologise for his previous statements.
Mahesh Landge was Ajit Pawar’s loyal aide once...
Like many prominent leaders in Pimpri-Chinchwad city, MLA Mahesh Landge began his political career in the Congress in the mid-1990s under the leadership of the late Ajit Pawar. However, after being denied the opportunity to contest from the Bhosari Assembly constituency in the 2014 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, Landge left the NCP and went on to defeat the party’s then-sitting MLA, Vilas Lande.
Landge later joined the BJP and, in 2017, wrested control of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) from Ajit Pawar, ending his 15-year-long dominance over the civic body. Despite Ajit Pawar forging an alliance with the BJP in 2023, tensions between the two leaders never subsided. These differences peaked during the recent PCMC elections earlier this month.
Following a video of MLA Landge apologising publicly, political observers and netizens have reacted by suggesting that his words were an expression of regret over his prolonged political scuffle with Ajit Pawar.
