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BJP’s Manjusha Nagpure elected unopposed as Pune mayor
elections were rendered uncontested after NCP’s Shital Sawant and Congress leader Ashwini Landge withdrew from the mayoral race, while NCP corporator Dattatray Bahirat and Congress’s Sahil Kedari pulled out of the deputy mayor contest
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator Manjusha Nagpure was elected unopposed as mayor of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Monday, while Republican Party of India (Athawale) leader Parshuram Wadekar was chosen unopposed as deputy mayor.
The elections were rendered uncontested after NCP’s Shital Sawant and Congress leader Ashwini Landge withdrew from the mayoral race, while NCP corporator Dattatray Bahirat and Congress’s Sahil Kedari pulled out of the deputy mayor contest.
The decision to hold unopposed elections was taken unanimously by all parties in view of the accidental death of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. BJP leaders Ganesh Bidkar and city unit president Dheeraj Ghate had appealed to the Nationalist Congress Party, Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) to avoid a formal voting process and instead use the time for condolence meetings for Ajit Pawar and veteran trade union leader Baba Adhav. Opposition parties accepted the request and withdrew their nominations.
In the 165-member PMC, the BJP has a clear majority with 119 corporators. Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Sharad Pawar-headed NCP (SP) together have 30 seats, the Congress has 15, while Shiv Sena (UBT) has one member.
The election process was conducted in the presence of district collector Jitendra Dudi, who asked members to complete the statutory procedure before addressing the House. After the formalities, leaders from all parties spoke in the newly constituted civic body.
Nagpure, a corporator from the Sinhagad Road area, is closely associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and holds a postgraduate degree in management. She took charge as mayor in the presence of Union minister of state for civil aviation and Pune MP Murlidhar Mohol.
Addressing reporters, Mohol said the BJP was thankful to the citizens of Pune for giving the party a clear mandate in the civic body. “Because of this mandate, our corporators Manjusha Nagpure and Parshuram Wadekar were elected unopposed as mayor and deputy mayor,” he said.
Nagpure thanked the citizens and leaders of all parties for supporting her election. “I was elected as a corporator unopposed, and today I have been elected mayor unopposed as well. The mayor’s post is prestigious and comes with great responsibility. Since elected representatives were absent for the last four years, the system has changed considerably. Our first challenge will be to streamline the functioning of the civic body,” she said.
Monday’s proceedings marked the first meeting of elected representatives at the PMC after a gap of four years, following a prolonged period of administrative rule. The return of corporators brought visible activity back to the PMC headquarters, which had largely lacked political presence and public interaction during the administrative tenure.
