Pune: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has unanimously chosen Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol to lead its campaign in the upcoming Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections, Maharashtra cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil announced Sunday. The civic polls are likely set for the second half of January.
Mohol said the BJP has begun preparing its manifesto for the PMC elections and will seek suggestions directly from residents. “Our workers will go door to door across every ward to understand what Pune needs over the next 25–50 years. We will draft the manifesto based on these conversations,” he said, adding that experts from different fields will also be consulted. “We will ensure 100% implementation of the promises over the next five years,” he said.
The Pune city core committee met on Sunday with senior leaders from the city in attendance. Besides Mohol and Patil, organisation secretary for western Maharashtra Makarand Deshpande, city president Dheeraj Ghate, former Union minister Prakash Javadekar, state general secretary Rajesh Pande, senior leader Dilip Kamble, MP Medha Kulkarni, election in-charge Ganesh Bidkar, MLAs Bhimrao Tapkir, Sunil Kamble, Siddharth Shirole, Yogesh Tilekar, and Shrinath Bhimale were among those present.
On the Mahayuti equation in the civic polls, Mohol said the BJP will follow the alliance line. “We are part of Mahayuti. Our leaders have said the alliance dharma must be maintained. Where seat-sharing is possible, we will contest together. Where it is not feasible, there will be friendly contests. The final stand will be announced after directions from senior leaders,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}On the Mahayuti equation in the civic polls, Mohol said the BJP will follow the alliance line. “We are part of Mahayuti. Our leaders have said the alliance dharma must be maintained. Where seat-sharing is possible, we will contest together. Where it is not feasible, there will be friendly contests. The final stand will be announced after directions from senior leaders,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}He also said discussions on inducting former corporators or leaders from other parties will be taken up only after the BJP finalises its entry policy. “Decisions will be taken unanimously. Where inducting someone strengthens the party, we will consider it. But where the BJP’s organisation is strong, existing workers will get priority,” he said.
Mohol added that the party is working seriously on issues relating to errors and confusion in the voter list. “The mistakes must be corrected, but this should not be turned into a political issue,” he said.