He was speaking at the condolence meet to pay tributes to Bapat, who passed away on March 29 in Pune at the age of 73 after a prolonged illness. Bapat, who belonged to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had represented the Kasba Peth Assembly constituency in Pune city for five terms before becoming MP in 2019.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Union minister Ramdas Athavale, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Prakash Javdekar and Chandrakant Patil, state minister Uday Samant and other leaders were also present at the condolence meet.?

Gadkari said, "Girish Bapat was a strong pillar of Pune and had incredible confidence. We met each other during the Emergency. He cared for everyone and never harboured any grudge against anyone. He never believed in caste and religion. He always loved to cook and invited me for dinner many times."

"Bapat worked hard for the party in difficult times. Apart from Pune, he worked in several other districts. He was a free leader and always available to common people. He maintained a very good relationship with leaders from rival parties," the Minister for Road Transport and Highways said.?

Bapat had asked me to solve the traffic problem at Chandani Chowk in Pune, he added.?

NCP supremo Pawar said, "There was an age gap between me and Bapat. Though he belonged to a different ideology, I always observed what Bapat was doing. He always wanted everybody to work and solve civic problems. He worked for the last element in the society. Bapat used to come at my place for some work to discuss multiple issues regarding Pune."