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Pune deputy mayor resigns ahead of polls
Pune deputy mayor Saraswati Shendge from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) resigned from her post late evening on Monday
Pune deputy mayor Saraswati Shendge from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) resigned from her post late evening on Monday.
Shendge’s resignation ahead of civic polls early next year has created a buzz in the city’s pollical circles.
In December 2020, BJP’s ally the Republican Party of India Athavale RPI (A) demanded to share power in the last year of its rule in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
The RPI (A)’s demand came immediately after BJP’s defeat in the graduate and teachers’ constituency legislative council election from the Pune division.
The RPI (A) has been BJP’s alliance partner for the lok sabha, state and civic polls.
Shendge’s resignation is linked with RPI’s demand for the deputy mayor post.
However, leader of the house in the PMC Ganesh Bidkar refused to comment on the RPI demand.
“The party has accepted the resignation and we will carry out the procedure to depute a new deputy city mayor soon,” Bidkar said.
The BJP came to power in the PMC in 2017 by winning 98 of 162 seats. At present, the BJP has eight assembly seats in the city along with the Pune lok sabha seat.
RPI was given the post of deputy mayor in 2017 and held it for two years. In 2019, BJP gave a chance to Saraswati Shendge as deputy mayor of Pune.
PMPML director Pawar denies to resign
The BJP has asked Shankar Pawar who is currently the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) director to tender his resignation, however he has refused to resign.
Pawar said, “The party leaders have asked me to resign but I have denied. Former chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and city president Madhuri Misal appointed me as the PMPML director for two and half years. I just completed one and half years. Of those, one year has gone without doing anything in the PMPML. I have very limited time to do something for the development of PMPML.”
Pawar said that party leaders are not bothered about Hemant Rasne who has got the standing committee chairman post thrice, however are asking me to vacate the post.
“The party should give an equal opportunity to all elected corporators but it is not happening,” he said.
