Pune: Shiv Sena’s (UBT) Avinash Salve Joined Congress; Set to Contest from Pune Cantonment

Pune: In the run-up to the assembly elections in the state, almost all the political parties have begun their preparations. As a result, political parties have started building their base in the constituencies and looking for new candidates where they do not have strong leaders.

Amidst all this, the Congress party also started focussing on the Pune district. It is leant that the Congress party has decided to contest three out of eight seats in Pune, including Pune Cantonment, Shivaji Nagar, and Kasba Peth constituencies. Accordingly, Avinash Salve of the Shiv Sena (UBT) party joined the Congress party in the presence of Congress state president Nana Patole, AICC in-charge of Maharashtra Ramesh Chennithala, and other senior leaders of Congress.

Avinash Salve had won the Yerawada constituency in 2017 on a Shiv Sena ticket. Earlier, he had won the Municipal Corporation three times from the Republican Party of India (RPI). He had also once contested the election from the Congress party. Since 1992, except for a few times, he has been continuously elected to the Municipal Corporation.

After the split in Shiv Sena, Salve was in Uddhav Thackeray’s group. Since the Thackeray group is a component of the Mahavikas Aghadi, it is being discussed that Salve’s entry into Congress was done with the upcoming assembly elections in mind.

While speaking on it, Avinash Salve said, “In the background of the upcoming assembly elections, I have joined the Congress party on the assurance of candidature from the Pune Cantonment assembly constituency. Although I have joined Congress, I will contest the election as a member of Mahavikas Aghadi. While entering, I informed senior Shiv Sena leaders about this, and they also generously allowed me to go.”