PMC Elections 2025–26: Pune Municipal Commissioner Reviews Police Preparedness, Meets Political Parties
Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Pune, 18th December 2025: As preparations gather pace for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) General Elections 2025–26, Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram on Thursday held a coordination meeting with senior police and transport officials to ensure smooth conduct of election-related activities in the city.
The meeting, held on December 18, focused on inter-departmental coordination, particularly the role of the police department during the election process. Those present included Joint Commissioner of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Branch) Sandeep Bhajibhakare, Pune Regional Transport Officer Archana Gaikwad, and representatives from concerned civic departments.
Officials were briefed on the proposed election schedule and the directives issued by the Election Commission. The PMC administration outlined the need to set up various election-related cells as mandated, along with the appointment of police coordination officers for each unit.
Key responsibilities discussed included effective enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct through video surveillance teams, flying squads and static surveillance teams. Police deployment and security arrangements will also be required for election officers’ offices, zonal offices, election observers, EVM strong rooms, material distribution and collection centres, counting centres, and the transportation of electronic voting machines. Identification of sensitive polling booths and enhanced security at such locations was also reviewed.
In addition, police-related permissions for election campaigning were discussed. These include permissions for public meetings, temporary campaign offices, use of loudspeakers, processions and roadshows, as well as pre-certification of political advertisements in print, electronic and social media.
Speaking during the meeting, Joint CP Sharma said the police department has initiated necessary planning to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections. “All required arrangements are being made to conduct the elections in a transparent and orderly manner. The Pune Police will extend full cooperation to the Pune Municipal Corporation throughout the election process,” he said.
Later in the day, the civic administration held a separate meeting with representatives of recognised political parties. At the outset, officials made a presentation outlining key aspects of the PMC General Elections 2025–26, including procedural requirements and timelines.
The Deputy Commissioner and Nodal Officer for No-Dues Certificates explained the newly developed online system for obtaining pending dues clearance certificates required during the nomination process. Political party representatives welcomed the initiative, stating that the digital system is user-friendly and has significantly simplified registration and application procedures.
During the interaction, representatives raised queries related to affidavit formats, no-dues certificates, caste validity certificates, police character verification certificates, name corrections and other documentation. These concerns were addressed by the Additional Municipal Commissioner (Special) and Election Officer along with other senior PMC officials.
Instructions were also issued to all concerned election officers to ensure timely resolution of such issues raised by political parties.
