[1] As an MNS candidate in the 2009 Maharashtra Assembly elections, he contested from the Kasba Peth constituency and gave a tough fight to the BJP's Girish Bapat, losing by a margin of around 8,000 votes.
[1] Feeling sidelined within the MNS, Dhangekar quit the party in 2017 and briefly contested as an independent in the Pune civic polls with Congress support, defeating BJP heavyweight Ganesh Bidkar.
[1] He aimed to contest the 2019 Assembly elections from Kasba Peth, but the Congress fielded Arvind Shinde instead, leading to a BJP win by Mukta Tilak.
[1] Dhangekar's significant achievement came in 2023 when he won the Kasba Peth Assembly by-election on a Congress ticket, ending the BJP's 28-year stronghold in the constituency.
[1] Following his 1 and half year tenure as MLA, he contested the 2024 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election from Kasba Peth on a Congress ticket but lost to BJP candidate Hemant Rasane.