EVEN at the age of 79, Gajanan Babar, a hardcore Shiv Sainik, continued to raise issues affecting the residents of Pimpri-Chinchwad and the city. On Wednesday, Babar, hailed as the “voice of the outsiders and ordinary folks”, breathed his last after a brief illness. The funeral of Babar, who is survived by his wife, two children and other relatives, will be held at the Nigdi crematorium around 11am on Thursday.
Babar was among the rare politicians in Pimpri-Chinchwad who had many firsts to his credit. He was the first Shiv Sena councillor of the then Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal council in 1978. He was again elected in 1986, as the only Sena corporator in the first election after the local body became a corporation. He was the first opposition leader of the municipal corporation. In 2009, he became the first MP from the newly formed Maval constituency. He was also the MLA from Haveli for two terms. For years he lived in the Mohannagar area of Pimpri-Chinchwad before shifting to Wakad. His two brothers, Prakash and Madhukar, are former corporators.
“He was elected several times from an area where the Congress and the NCP dominated. He symbolised the fighting spirit of the Shiv Sena,” said former Sena MP Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil.
Adhalrao said Babar was popular among traders, vendors, shopkeepers and handcartwallahs. “Babar took up their grievances with the authorities consistently and fought for justice for them. He had established a very good network of these small-time traders who were ‘outsiders’,” recalled Adhalrao.
The Sena is known for its virulent campaigns for “sons of the soil” and the Marathi manoos. “But Babar took up cudgels on behalf of the ‘outsiders’ and that probably is the reason why he was elected from areas dominated by the Congress and the NCP,” said Adhalrao. “Babar was good at communicating. We used to regularly meet different ministers and take up the problems of our constituencies.”
BJP leader Sarang Kamtekar said Babar’s down-to-earth approach appealed to the common man, especially those from outside Maharashtra. “Pimpri-Chinchwad is dominated by goanwallahs. The ‘outsiders’ needed someone to back them. And they found an able ally in Babar, who aggressively fought for their rights. Babar led several morchas of small-time traders, tapriwallas and vegetable and fruit vendors to the corporation,” said Kamtekar.
Kamtekar said that the 2009 parliamentary election proved Babar’s immense popularity among a cross-section of the people in Pimpri-Chinchwad. “The Maval seat was newly formed. Pimpri-Chinchwad was part of the Baramati constituency from where NCP chief Sharad Pawar had won with massive margins. Babar broke that hegemony as Pimpri-Chinchwad, which had become part of the Maval constituency, elected him. Babar defeated heavyweight NCP leader Azam Pansare,” recalled Kamtekar.
In 2014, when denied a ticket by the Sena, Babar joined the MNS. In 2017, he switched to the BJP, only to return to the Sena two years later. “He was a diehard Sainik…and therefore could not adjust in any other party,” said another of his close associates, Sanjay Shendge.
He repeatedly took up river and industrial pollution with the central government. “The Centre has taken note of his objections and complaints regarding the lack of consistent action as regards the rising industrial and river pollution in Pimpri-Chinchwad. The Centre has asked the authorities to initiate strong action in the matter. Till his last breath, he was busy fighting for the citizens and the city,” said BJP corporator Seema Savale.
