Pune: BJP to Contest PCMC Elections Independently, Says Chinchwad MLA Shankar Jagtap

Reported By Varad Bhatkhande
Pimpri Chinchwad, 2nd January 2025: With both Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Elections now concluded, the focus turns to local body elections. Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has been under administrative rule since March 2022, for almost 3 years now. As the elections are speculated to be a couple of months away, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chinchwad MLA Shankar Jagtap has provided a significant update, stating that BJP will contest PCMC elections independently.

The last elections took place in 2017, where BJP, led by late MLA Laxman Jagtap and Bhosari MLA Mahesh Landge, was able to end the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) domination in Pimpri Chinchwad by winning the PCMC. Now, Ajit Pawar is part of the Mahayuti alliance, which includes his faction of NCP, BJP, and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. In the recent Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Mahayuti contested unitedly and secured a huge majority.

With speculations about the dynamics of local body elections arising, Shankar Jagtap, a key BJP leader in the Pimpri Chinchwad area, has announced that BJP will independently contest all 128 seats of PCMC, stating there is no alliance for PCMC elections.

MLA Shankar Jagtap said, “As per the orders of BJP leaders and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, BJP will contest the PCMC elections on its own. BJP will once again bring sole power to PCMC. Last time, BJP had 77 corporators. This time we are trying to get more corporators elected. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has also made it clear that his party, NCP, will contest the local body elections on its own.”

MLA Jagtap further stated that under administrative rule, people’s work doesn’t happen quickly. He vowed to complete citizens’ work, solve their problems in areas under the PCMC, and promised smooth water flow as well.