Senior BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP from Pune Girish Bapat passed away at the age of 72 at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital and Research Center in the city on Wednesday. He breathed his last at 12:32 pm at the hospital. A strong leader of the party from Pune, Bapat had a strong hold on city politics.
here are some lesser-known facts about Girish Bapat.
- Girish Bapat was born on September 3, 1950, in Pune.
- After his primary education from Talegaon Dabhade, he completed his secondary education at New English School, Raman Bagh in Pune and graduated in commerce from BMCC College.
- Bapat was popularly known as 'Bhau' (brother) by his followers.
- He had strong public contact and good relations with leaders from all political parties which helped him throughout his career.
- Girish Bapat was a volunteer of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and entered politics when BJP was known as Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
- He held multiple positions in RSS, Jan Sangh and BJP.
- Bapat became a corporator in the Pune Municipal Corporation in 1983 and was elected as a corporator for three consecutive terms.
- He was the chairman of the standing committee in the Pune Municipal Corporation even when his party was not in power.
- He was elected as an MLA for five consecutive terms from the Kasba constituency from 1995 till 2014.
- Won Lok Sabha elections in 2019 by defeating Congress's Mohan Joshi by a margin of 96,000 votes.
- He served 19 months of imprisonment in Nashik Jail during the emergency period.