India, July 16 -- Senior Congress leader from Pune district and former MLA Sanjay Jagtap's decision to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday is likely to ease the process of land acquisition for the proposed Purandar airport.

With both Jagtap and sitting MLA Vijay Shivtare now part of the Mahayuti alliance, officials believe the state government will have a smoother path in pushing the long-delayed infrastructure project.

Purandar assembly constituency has long seen a political rivalry between Jagtap and Shivtare. While Shivtare, of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, is a vocal proponent of the airport project, Jagtap had led the farmers' opposition to land acquisition during his tenure as Congress MLA and under the previous ...