Pune: Allies Begin Solo Groundwork as BJP Pushes for Unified Mahayuti Fight in Pune Civic Elections
Pune, 11th December 2025: Political manoeuvring has intensified in the run-up to the long-awaited Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections, with the BJP reiterating its commitment to contesting under the Mahayuti banner even as its alliance partners chart their own independent course. The contrasting signals have added a new layer of uncertainty to what was expected to be a straightforward Mahayuti versus MVA battle.
Despite the BJP’s public messaging in favour of a joint contest, both the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP have accelerated their separate preparations, distributing forms, reviewing probable candidates and activating ward-level organisations.
The three Mahayuti constituents have now begun groundwork on different tracks. The BJP has already issued nomination forms and reportedly received more than 2,000 applications. Ajit Pawar’s NCP has followed with its own form distribution process, and on Wednesday the Shinde-led Shiv Sena kicked off its internal exercises across all 165 wards.
The synchronised yet separate moves by all three parties have fuelled speculation that the PMC election could see competitive dynamics even within the ruling alliance.
City BJP president Dheeraj Ghate insisted that the party is committed to a combined Mahayuti fight, emphasising that the direction from the state leadership is “clear and unchanged.” “We will contest the PMC elections as Mahayuti, that is the decision taken at the state level,” Ghate said.
He noted that the BJP currently holds 102 PMC corporators and has identified 15–20 seats where it narrowly lost in the previous election. According to Ghate, the party expects to secure around 125 seats comfortably this time. He also confirmed that the BJP has not yet received any official seat-sharing proposal from its allies but anticipates formal talks soon.
While the BJP maintains that the coalition will stay intact, three major developments highlight the alliance’s unusual pre-poll situation:
-No meeting of Mahayuti partners has taken place in Pune so far.
-Seat-sharing negotiations are yet to be initiated.
-All three parties are simultaneously preparing for the possibility of fighting independently.
This has led political observers to suggest that although the final decision will rest with the state leadership, Pune may witness unexpected shifts, or even intra-alliance competition, if consensus on seat-sharing does not emerge in the coming weeks.
