Mumbai The incident changed at the last moment amid talks of former Congress MLA Rahul Bondre joining BJP from Chikhli assembly seat in Buldhana district of Maharashtra. Bondre had made public his decision to leave Congress and join BJP and on September 22, in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, his joining BJP was revealed. After this, Congress leader and leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi spoke to him on phone.
It is reported that after the mediation of Maharashtra Congress President Harshvardhan Sapkal, Rahul Gandhi spoke directly to Bondre. The conversation between the two is visible in the viral video. During the conversation, Rahul Gandhi appealed to Bondre to reconsider his decision to leave the party and remain in Congress. In response, Bondre said that Rahul Gandhi's call has given him courage to work again and he will remain with Congress.
There were preparations to join BJP
Rahul Bondre had talked about leaving Congress and joining BJP through a video on social media. Chikhali's BJP MLA Shweta Mahale had also confirmed the information about his joining BJP. It was revealed that a program was being prepared in Mumbai on September 22 for Bondre's BJP entry, in which Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was likely to be present.
Bondre has been a Congress MLA from Chikhali assembly constituency. He represented the assembly by winning the elections in 2009 and 2014. In the 2019 and 2024 assembly elections, he was defeated by BJP's Shweta Mahale. In the 2024 elections, there was a difference of 3,702 votes between the two.
Decision to stay in Congress after talks
After the phone conversation, Bondre said that he would remain with the Congress. In the video that surfaced, he is seen thanking Rahul Gandhi and saying that even if he has to lose everything, he will continue the fight with him. During the conversation, Rahul Gandhi encouraged them to move forward by talking about achieving victory after defeat.
The announcement of Bondre joining BJP and then changing the decision has intensified the discussion in the local politics of Buldhana. According to the information available at present, he has decided to postpone the program of joining BJP and remain in Congress.