Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator Manjusha Nagpure is set to become the next mayor of Pune, with Parshuram Wadekar likely to be her deputy, after both filed their nomination papers on Tuesday. While the formal election will be held on February 9, the outcome is largely a foregone conclusion given the BJP’s clear majority in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress have also fielded their respective candidates although both do not have numbers to elect them.
The BJP holds 119 seats in the 165-member civic body, well above the 83 votes required to secure the mayor’s post. The NCP has 27 corporators, while the Congress has 15.
Despite being in a minority, both opposition parties have filed nominations, ensuring that the election will be held as scheduled.
Nagpure, a long-time Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker, was elected unopposed from the Manikbaug–Sinhgad Road area in last month’s civic polls. She holds MCom and MBA degrees and worked in the IT sector before entering politics. Nagpure was first elected to the civic body in 2012 and was re-elected in 2017.
“The party has given me a big opportunity, and I am thankful for it. I am aware that the mayor’s post is prestigious and not merely ceremonial, but one that demands work. I will try to do justice to this responsibility,” Nagpure said after filing her nomination.
The BJP has allotted the deputy mayor’s post to the Republican Party of India (Athawale), with Wadekar, who contested the civic election on the BJP symbol, being its nominee. Wadekar said he was grateful to the BJP leadership for the opportunity.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP has allotted the deputy mayor’s post to the Republican Party of India (Athawale), with Wadekar, who contested the civic election on the BJP symbol, being its nominee. Wadekar said he was grateful to the BJP leadership for the opportunity.
{{/usCountry}}“In the previous term, my wife Sunita was the deputy mayor, and now I have been given the same responsibility. It is rare for the post to come to the same family twice,” he said.
In a post on X, Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment Ramdas Athawale thanked chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Maharashtra minister Chandrakant Patil for backing Wadekar.
“Today, this friendship has been honoured by giving the deputy mayor’s post to the loyal RPI leader Parshuram Wadekar,” Athawale said.
NCP candidate Sheetal Sawant filed her nomination for the mayor’s post, while Datta Bahirat was named as the party’s candidate for deputy mayor. The NCP (SP) has three corporators in the civic body.
Congress city unit president Arvind Shinde said the party had appealed to all opposition parties to come together and contest the election. “We requested all opposition parties to unite and file nomination forms. However, as the NCP is Team B of the BJP, they initially refused,” Shinde said.
Pune municipal secretary Yogita Bhosale confirmed that members of the BJP, NCP and Congress had filed nomination forms. “The election for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor will be held on February 9,” she said.