India, Jan. 7 -- The Congress' steady decline in Pune over a decade and half is closely linked to the sidelining of former MP Suresh Kalmadi, with party leaders acknowledging that the absence of a single strong, unifying figure after him weakened the organisation at the city level.

The Congress dominated Pune's civic and political space until around 2000, when Kalmadi exercised near-complete control over the city unit. Kalmadi exiting from active politics due to controversies and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar trying to challenge his authority by 2007 led to the party gradually losing its organisational strength, with no leader emerging to fill the vacuum.

During his tenure, Kalmadi built a firm hold over the city Co...