At an official event in Pimpri-Chinchwad last week, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar severely reprimanded BJP MLA Mahesh Landge for not mentioning his name while speaking about the development of Pimpri-Chinchwad. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was also present at the event organised to perform the “bhoomi pujan” of the new building of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissionerate in the Chikhali area. A slew of civic development projects were also inaugurated on the occasion. Landge, who addressed the gathering before Ajit Pawar, was effusive in his praise of Fadnavis, crediting him with sanctioning and ensuring the implementation of several big development projects during his previous tenure as chief minister from 2014 to 2019. “During his first tenure as chief minister and later on as well, Devendra Fadnavis has played a key role in the development of Pimpri-Chinchwad,” Landge said. “Pimpri-Chinchwad could carve out a name for itself when Fadnavis was at the helm. Pimpri-Chinchwad was in the shadows of Pune city but Fadnavis gave it a new identity,” the MLA went on, besides suggesting the name of Shivneri for the new district in case Pune district is split into two. Landge, however, did not mention the name of Pawar, who is widely considered to be the “architect” of the rapid development witnessed in Pimpri-Chinchwad in the last 20-25 years. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which Pawar currently leads, has ruled Pimpri-Chinchwad for more than two decades – first in association with the Congress and later on its own. When it was his turn to speak, Ajit Pawar gave Landge a dressing down. “I don't know why Mahesh Landge felt unhappy at taking my name when he mentioned the development of Pimpri-Chinchwad. The entire Pimpri-Chinchwad knows it. I became your MP in 1992 and from 1992 to 2017, Pimpri-Chinchwad improved drastically. For nearly 25 years, I have been keeping a watch on the development of Pimpri-Chinchwad. You can ask the officials here how many times I enquire with them about the development works and how many meetings I hold,” he said. Pawar also censured Landge for raising the topic of a separate district. “There is no need for a separate district. Whatever is going on is just fine,” he said. Reminding Landge that they were both part of the Mahayuti government in the state, Pawar said, “If any one of us does good work, we should praise him. Don't be such a miser. I am big-hearted, I always give credit to those who work.” Even as the NCP chief minced no words in attacking the BJP MLA, Fadnavis did not intervene. Landge, on his part, also avoided an argument. He also refused to speak to the media about the incident. The MLA's brother Kartik Landge, however, said, “Mahesh did take Ajit Pawar's name at the beginning of his speech. Pawar might not have heard it due to the noise at the event. Mahesh dada has nothing against the Deputy Chief Minister.” The NCP unit in Pimpri-Chinchwad, meanwhile, expressed astonishment at the MLA’s remarks. “The Deputy Chief Minister has rightly chided Mahesh Landge. He has reason to feel upset. At a public event, that too in front of the local crowd, he was not credited with the development of Pimpri-Chinchwad. How can it be? Ajit Pawar is the real architect of Pimpri-Chinchwad and all of Pune and Maharashtra knows it. It is undeniable,” said Yogesh Behl, president of the party’s Pimpri-Chinchwad wing. The NCP pointed out that the foundation of Pimpri-Chinchwad was laid by Prof Ramkrishna More of the Congress. And then, Ajit Pawar pushed its development, said Behl, adding, “First we were in alliance with the Congress and then on our own, we secured power in Pimpri-Chinhwad and ruled the city for more than 20 years. It was only in 2017 that the BJP came to power in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. So how can anyone credit Devendra Fadnavis with the development of Pimpri-Chinchwad?” “Landge should have had the courtesy to take the name of Ajit Pawar. So what if he is in the BJP? We are all alliance partners, we are all part of the Mahayuti. We should not be speaking against each other,” Behl said. Landge also forgot that the NCP leader had made him a corporator, Behl stated. “Mahesh Landge came into politics because it was Ajit Pawar who nominated him for civic elections” After starting his political career with the NCP around 2004, Landge was elected as the corporator from Bhosari for three consecutive terms. In 2014, he was denied a ticket by the party following which he contested as an Independent and was elected as the Bhosari MLA. He subsequently joined the BJP. In the 2019 and 2024 Assembly elections, he was re-elected from the Bhosari Assembly seat.
