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NCP opts out of PCMC mayoral race, seeks deputy mayor post from BJP
The NCP won't contest the Pimpri-Chinchwad mayoral election after Ajit Pawar's death, negotiating with BJP for the deputy mayor's post.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has decided not to contest the Pimpri-Chinchwad mayoral election following the death of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, but is negotiating with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to secure the deputy mayor’s post, party leaders said on Monday.
The BJP, which secured a clear majority by winning 84 of the 128 seats in the 2026 Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) elections, has nominated Ravi Landge for mayor and Sharmila Babar for deputy mayor. Landge secured his corporator seat unopposed for the second consecutive term from Seat B of ward number 6 reserved for OBC candidates.
With the NCP opting out of the mayoral race, Landge is set to be elected unopposed.
The NCP finished second with 37 seats, while the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) secured six. The Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS failed to win a single seat.
The nomination papers were filed on Monday in the presence of BJP leaders, including MLA Shankar Jagtap, MLA Mahesh Landge and other senior corporators. The party corporator Veejay Gorakh Shinde of ward number 19 expressed displeasure over internal decision-making.
Shinde, who wanted the post of mayor, reportedly walked out of the PCMC building after Landge’s name was announced. After Shinde refused to accept the post of deputy mayor, the BJP finalised Babar’s name at the last minute.
Although the Ajit Pawar-led NCP contested the polls in alliance with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) in an attempt to improve its prospects, the party’s tally remained similar with 37 seats — just one seat more compared to 2017.
Former mayor and NCP city head Yogesh Behl said contesting the mayor’s post made little political sense given the party’s numbers.
According to officials, for the deputy mayor’s post, Vaishali Kalbhor of NCP (Ward 14) and BJP’s Sharmila Babar (Ward 15) have filed nominations.
“The mayor for PCMC will be appointed on February 6. Following instructions from the divisional commissioner’s office, the municipal commissioner has called for general body meetings on the respective date,” said Mukesh Kolap, municipal secretary, PCMC.
Behl said that talks were on with the BJP regarding the deputy mayor’s position. “Just as the state had two deputy chief ministers, we have proposed that the deputy mayor post be given to NCP. Discussions are positive, and the name of a senior NCP corporator will be recommended soon,” he said.
