Mumbai, Dec. 27 -- Former Pune mayor Prashant Jagtap joined the Congress on Wednesday, two days after resigning from the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (SP) over its decision to form an alliance with Ajit Pawar's NCP for the upcoming civic polls in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. Jagtap, who was also the Pune chief of the NCP (SP), joined the Congress in the presence of its Maharashtra president, Harshwardhan Sapkal, at the party's headquarters, Tilak Bhavan. Jagtap had openly opposed the decision of the NCP (SP) to ally with Ajit Pawar's NCP, asking how he could work with someone who had split the party and joined the right-wing Mahayuti coalition. According to people aware of the developments, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray had also extended an offer to Jagtap to join his party, but the latter decided to go with the Congress, which is more ideologically aligned with the NCP (SP). "It is a battle for ideology," said Jagtap, following his induction into the Congress. "I have no complaints against my party chief [Sharad Pawar], who gave me opportunities in the NCP. But I cannot work with parties that are helping the RSS and the BJP. I chose to join the Congress because I think it is the only party that can tackle RSS-BJP." Welcoming Jagtap, Sapkal said the Congress represents the ideological legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shahu Maharaj, Jyotiba Phule and BR Ambedkar, and is committed to an ideological struggle. "Some political parties today focus only on power and money to win elections. People usually salute the rising sun, but Prashant Jagtap has joined the Congress for ideological reasons," he added. Jagtap's induction would come as a boost for the Congress ahead of the civic polls, as it has gained a credible face in Pune, where the party has been in decline for more than a decade. Senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil said, "He should not have left the party. It is a sad decision on his part."...