PMC Elections 2025: Amol Balwadkar Switches to NCP After BJP Cuts His Ticket
Baner, 30th December 2025: In a major political development ahead of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections, former BJP corporator Amol Balwadkar joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after the BJP dropped his candidature at the last moment. Balwadkar was immediately fielded as an NCP candidate, giving a fresh twist to Pune’s civic poll battle.
Balwadkar had earlier emerged as an internal challenger to Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil during the Assembly elections, running an aggressive campaign that reportedly caused discomfort within the party. Though he was sidelined for a period following the polls and later reinstated after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis intervened, political circles say the fallout resurfaced during the PMC ticket distribution.
With barely an hour left for filing nomination papers, the BJP denied Balwadkar a ticket and instead nominated Kothrud North Mandal president Lahu Balwadkar, triggering fresh discontent within the party. Soon after, Amol Balwadkar met Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and formally joined the NCP.
Pune: भाजप नेत्यांनी सूड उगवल्याने बालवडकर राष्ट्रवादीत – उमेदवारी कापताच केला पक्षप्रवेश
In Ward No. 9 (Sus–Baner–Pashan), the BJP kept its candidate selection uncertain till the end and eventually opted for new faces in Wards 8 and 9, bypassing former corporators. The developments have exposed internal dissent within the BJP and added new momentum to the PMC election contest in Pune.
