Congress, NCP (SP) raise objections to PMC’s draft ward structure

Congress, NCP (SP) raised objections to PMC draft ward structure, accusing the administration of violating the guidelines laid down by the state election commission

PUNE: The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party/NCP (Sharad Pawar/SP) on Tuesday raised objections to the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC’s) draft ward structure, accusing the administration of violating the guidelines laid down by the state election commission. Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders held a press conference and submitted a formal objection letter to municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram.

Congress, NCP (SP) raised objections to PMC draft ward structure, accusing the administration of violating the guidelines laid down by the state election commission. (Getty Images (PIC FOR REPRESENTATION))

Congress city unit president Arvind Shinde alleged that the ward delimitation process was carried out under pressure from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “There is no reservation for SC (scheduled caste) and ST (scheduled tribe) candidates in some wards. For example, no reservation has been proposed in BJP leader Ganesh Bidkar’s ward. The slums have also been split in a way that denies SC and ST candidates their rightful representation,” Shinde said.

Shinde further pointed out that in some cases, areas from four different assembly constituencies have been clubbed together into one ward. “This is administratively problematic. Several areas have been divided as per the convenience of the ruling party, mainly in slum pockets,” he said.

Echoing the criticism, NCP (SP) city unit president Prashant Jagtap said that the proposed ward structure lacks geographical logic. “The shapes of wards have been disturbed. Instead of following natural boundaries, arbitrary connections have been made. For instance, in Congress leader Shinde’s ward, the boundary stretches from Shaniwarwada to Yerawada. In the Pune station ward, new areas have been added by crossing the river, which is against delimitation norms,” Jagtap said.

NCP MLA Bapu Pathare, party spokesperson Ankush Kakade, and several other leaders were present at the press conference where they jointly demanded corrections to the draft ward list.