Pune, Dec. 20 -- In a major political development ahead of the upcoming Pune civic polls, several former corporators, party office bearers, and others joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday.

Among those who entered the BJP fold were Surendra Pathare, son of MLA Bapusaheb Pathare, who is part of Sharad Pawar's NCP; Sayali Wanjale, daughter of late MLA Ramesh Wanjale; former corporators and NCP SP leader Sachin Dodke and Balasaheb Dhankavade, along with many of their supporters.

Polling for the Pune Municipal Corporation is scheduled to take place on Janaury 15, with counting taking place on January 16.

Leaders from the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) Shiv Sena faction, including Amol Devdekar and Prashant Tupe from Hadapsar, as ...