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Congress likely to replace Pune city unit chief
Congress leader Arvind Shinde has been serving as the acting president of the city unit for the past three years with the party yet to formally appoint him
The Congress is likely to soon replace its Pune city unit president amid growing opposition to existing leadership after the defeat in the recent Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections compared to the 2017 civic polls.
Congress leader Arvind Shinde has been serving as the acting president of the city unit for the past three years with the party yet to formally appoint him. The Lok Sabha, assembly and municipal corporation elections were held during his tenure.
While the party fared poorly in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, its performance marginally improved in the municipal corporation polls, which it contested independently even as the party lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). In the 2017 PMC elections, the Congress had won only nine seats, but increased its tally to 15 in the 2026 civic polls.
Sources said that despite the improved performance, the party leadership has kept Shinde away from key decision-making. Recently, while appointing nominated members to the civic body, the party’s state president Harshwardhan Sapkal and Pune incharge Bunty Patil allegedly did not consult Shinde.
The names of the nominated members were instead sent directly to Congress leader in the civic body, Chandu Kadam, bypassing the city unit chief.
Shinde said that he was unaware of the nominated members’ names. “Earlier, the names used to come to the Congress House and the city president would convey the message,” he said.
A senior party leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the party is likely to appoint a new city president soon as Shinde’s tenure is nearing its end. “Three major elections have already been contested under his leadership,” the leader said.
The Congress city unit is also grappling with internal factionalism. Even as the party’s base in Pune has weakened over the years, several leaders remain engaged in intra-party group politics, party insiders said.
