BJP Wraps Up Interviews of Over 2,100 Aspirants Ahead of Pune Municipal Elections

Pune, 15th December 2025: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday concluded its two-day exercise of interviewing aspirants for the upcoming Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections, screening over 2,100 hopefuls amid keen interest in party tickets.

According to party leaders, the BJP had distributed more than 2,500 application forms, of which over 2,300 were submitted. Around 900 aspirants were interviewed on Saturday, followed by nearly 1,200 on Sunday at the party’s city office. Each interview lasted approximately three to four minutes.

The interviews were conducted by BJP city president Dheeraj Ghate, former minister Dilip Kamble, election in-charge Ganesh Bidkar, former leader of the house Srinath Bhimale, and Mahila Aghadi president Manisha Ladkat. In cases where multiple members from the same family had applied, joint interviews were conducted.

“All aspirants came well prepared. As a democratic party, the BJP will follow established democratic traditions and norms while finalising candidates,” Ghate said.

The exercise also saw a large number of aspirants from other political parties, including former mayors, deputy mayors, ex-standing committee chairpersons and former corporators, along with their family members. While many collected application forms, several were not called for interviews, fuelling speculation about possible party switchovers.

There has also been speculation that senior leaders from other parties may join the BJP during the chief minister’s visit to Pune on Monday. However, Ghate clarified that no inductions would take place, stating that the programme scheduled for Monday is a municipal event.