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Race intensifies on PMC nomination deadline day; BJP family tickets, NCP (SP) forms, rebels switch sides amid 2,298 filings
A frenetic final day of nominations for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections on Tuesday spotlighted internal party tensions, rebel candidatures and a massive electoral rush, as political players scrambled to secure their spots ahead of the deadline
A frenetic final day of nominations for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections on Tuesday spotlighted internal party tensions, rebel candidatures and a massive electoral rush, as political players scrambled to secure their spots ahead of the deadline.
The civic polls saw 2,298 nomination papers filed on the last day alone, bringing the total filings to a significant figure as party candidates and independents queued at 15 returning officer offices across Pune. Election officials said that the figures are provisional and are being verified.
Family tickets and factional feuds
In Vadgaon Sheri, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) caused a stir by fielding three tickets from the same household — opposition MLA Bapu Pathare’s son Surendra Pathare, daughter-in-law Aishwarya Pathare, and Trupti Bharne — bucking the usual trend of avoiding multiple family nominations from the same address. Pathare, the lone opposition MLA in the city, said he would still back Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) candidates despite his family contesting on BJP tickets.
By contrast, the BJP denied tickets to other established leaders’ relatives, notably cutting the candidature of relatives of minister of state and MP Murlidhar Mohol in Kothrud — a move that fuelled discontent and prompted some disgruntled aspirants to pivot to rival parties.
Rebel surge to NCP (Ajit Pawar)
On the last two days of nominations, a wave of rebel leaders from all parties joined the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) and took AB forms, signalling a consolidation of dissatisfied aspirants under his banner. Former corporators including Amol Balwadkar, Prakash Dhore, Archana Musale, Datta Bahirat, Shankar Pawar, Dhanjay Jadhav and Mukari Algude filed as NCP candidates, criticising the BJP for denying them tickets.
Meanwhile, the NCP (SP) also moved decisively amid stalled seat-sharing talks, issuing over 70 AB forms to its candidates on nominations’ deadline day. Party sources said that the step was aimed at safeguarding its electoral interests as alliance negotiations remained unresolved.
The rush reflects persistent realignments and tensions over seat distribution, especially between NCP factions and within the BJP-Shiv Sena (UBT) bloc, where formal seat allocations remain in flux even as candidates flood in.
Mass filings across wards
Beyond party politics, the final day saw a huge surge in filings citywide. The nominations on Tuesday alone — 2,298 — dwarfed filings from previous days, underlining the intense competition across Pune’s 41 wards. Bhavani Peth, Hadapsar-Mundhwa, Kothrud-Bavdhan, Warje-Karve Nagar and Kasba-Vishrambaug Wada were among the hotspots for candidate entries.
