Pune: BJP’s Shrinath Bhimale Elected PMC Standing Committee Chairman Unopposed

Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Pune, 23rd February 2026: Senior corporator Shrinath Bhimale of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was elected unopposed as chairman of the Standing Committee of the Pune Municipal Corporation (BJP) after the nomination of rival candidate Suhas Tingre from the Nationalist Congress Party was rejected for being submitted one minute late.

Election Officer Satishkumar Khadke declared Tingre’s nomination invalid, stating that it was filed after the deadline with the office of the municipal secretary. With no other valid nominations remaining, Bhimale’s election was announced unopposed.

The 16-member Standing Committee currently has 12 members from the BJP, making the outcome largely a formality. The BJP had officially nominated Bhimale, while the NCP, which has three members on the panel, had fielded Tingre.

Opposition members objected to the rejection, arguing that Tingre had been present in the municipal secretary’s office before the deadline and that his nomination should therefore be accepted. However, the election officer maintained that rules could not be relaxed and upheld the decision to invalidate the form.

Following the announcement, civic leaders and party representatives congratulated Bhimale on his appointment. Meanwhile, NCP member Amol Balwadkar was absent during the election proceedings.