Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti
The Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti achieved its goal on 1 May 1960, when the State of Bombay was partitioned into the Marathi-speaking State of Maharashtra and the Gujarati-speaking State of Gujarat. However Goa (then a Portuguese colony), Belgaum, Karwar and adjoining areas, which were also part of the Maharashtra envisaged by the Samiti, were not included in Maharashtra state. The prominent leaders of sanyukt maharashtra samiti decided to quit samiti after 1 May 1960, but the then chairman of the samiti Bhai Uddhavrao Patil continued his fight for the 862 Marathi-speaking villages of Karnataka that were excluded in 1960.
History of Pune
After gaining independence from British rule in 1947, Pune became part of the Bombay state. Just after a year of independence, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in 1948. Gandhi's assassin, Nathuram Godse and most of his fellow conspirators were from Pune. In 1950s, Pune came at the forefront of the struggle for a unified state of Maharashtra for the Marathi speakers. Many leaders of the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti, such as Keshavrao Jedhe, S.M. Joshi, Shripad Amrit Dange, Nanasaheb Gore and Prahlad Keshav Atre, were based in Pune. After the spectacular success of the Samiti in Marathi speaking areas, the Congress party government at the center agreed to merge Marathi speaking areas into the newly created state of Maharashtra in 1960, with Pune as one of its leading cities. The city has been part of the Pune Lok sabha constituency since independence. Since independence, the city has more often than not, elected candidates from the Congress party such as Vithalrao Gadgil, and in recent past, Suresh Kalmadi who was charged with corruption. The city elected opposition candidates in times of crisis, such as Nanasaheb Gore during the struggle for united Maharashtra in 1957, or Mohan Dharia after the lifting of Emergency in 1977. The city and its surrounding areas have six single-member constituencies for Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha. The Congress party or its breakaway factions such as NCP, have historically dominated elections to this body.