Fadnavis asks BJP MLA Mahesh Landge to avoid allegations amid PCMC poll row
Questions are being asked to them, but they have no answers. That is why they want to shift the election discourse from development to allegations. We have done substantial work in Pimpri Chinchwad, he said
Amid an escalating war of words between NCP leader and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Mahesh Landge during the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) election campaign, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday advised Landge to refrain from engaging with allegations and instead highlight developmental work before voters.
Fadnavis was speaking at a BJP rally in Akurdi organised as part of the PCMC poll campaign. Referring to the recent verbal sparring without naming Ajit Pawar or the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the chief minister said that such attacks intensify as elections approach.
“Some people start saying many things when elections come. But remember, our work speaks louder than us. Because of this work, there is annoyance and anger. If they get angry with you, you don’t need to respond in the same way. You have done a lot of work, just present it before the people,” Fadnavis told Landge.
He further said that opposition leaders were attempting to divert the campaign away from development, as they had little to showcase. “Questions are being asked to them, but they have no answers. That is why they want to shift the election discourse from development to allegations. We have done substantial work in Pimpri Chinchwad. If we put that before voters, we don’t need to respond to anyone else,” he said.
Fadnavis also expressed confidence that the BJP would win more seats than it did in the previous PCMC elections.
During the rally, Landge raised concerns about alleged threats being issued in Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) projects. Responding, Fadnavis said law enforcement would act firmly. “Who dares to threaten when Devendra Fadnavis is the home minister? We believe in the rule of law. If anyone is issuing threats, the police are capable of dealing with it. I need not intervene,” he said.
“As chief minister, I am also the chairperson of the apex SRA body. Decisions in the interest of people will be taken after January 16,” he added.
The exchange comes amid a series of allegations traded over the past week between Ajit Pawar and Landge, as political stakes rise ahead of the PCMC polls. Pawar has accused Landge of corruption and of breaking the municipal corporation’s fixed deposits, while also alleging irregularities linked to contracts.
Landge, in turn, has accused Pawar of involvement in the alleged ₹70,000-crore irrigation scam and raised allegations related to a government land case involving Pawar’s son, Parth Pawar.
Political temperatures rose further on Friday when Landge launched a sharp personal attack on Pawar during a public meeting, invoking an old remark allegedly made by Pawar to Shiv Sena leader Vijay Shivtare. Mimicking Pawar, Landge said, “If you think you can fix us, have we worn bangles? Our lion-hearted women will fix you. These are our Devendra-bhau’s beloved sisters.”
Reacting to Landge’s remarks, Ajit Pawar responded sarcastically when asked by reporters after the release of his party’s manifesto. “He is a big leader. Big leaders speak to smaller leaders in the singular, just as we speak to children or juniors. So he considers himself big and Ajit Pawar small, which is why he addresses me in the singular,” Pawar said.
With the BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP locked in a direct contest in Pimpri Chinchwad, campaign rhetoric between leaders from both sides has intensified in the run-up to the civic polls.
