Pune: Political Equations May Change In PCMC After Elections

Pimpri, 26 August 2021: After the State Election Commission on Wednesday directed 18 Municipal Corporations in Maharashtra, including Pimpri-Chinchwad, to prepare a draft plan for the formation of model wards according to the one-member ward system, the political atmosphere in the city has become warm.

Political parties were of the mindset that the forthcoming elections would be held under the four-member or two-member ward system. The political equations in the city will change completely if a final decision is taken to hold elections on a one-member ward basis.

The five-year elections held since the establishment of Pimpri Municipality (1986) have been held according to different ward systems. When there was a one-member ward system for the first election, the number of members was only 60. The number of members was 78 in the 1992 elections and 79 in the 1997 elections. The first multi-member (three-member) ward system elections were held in 2002. Subsequently, there were one-member wards in 2007 and two-member wards in 2012. In 2017, elections were held in four members in a ward.

Against this backdrop, all the political parties were of the view that the five-yearly elections to be held in early 2022 would be held in a two-member system. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, while talking to reporters in Pune, had personally predicted that there would be two-member wards. Therefore, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had started the work keeping in view the arithmetic of the two members. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded that the four-member ward system be maintained.

In 2002, the BJP had a three-member ward. Even more, the benefit came in 2017 after the four-member ward. BJP had won the power of the municipality one-sidedly. In 2007 and 2012, as the wards had one and two members respectively, the NCP had benefited and also got the power of the municipality. Until the final decision on the 2022 elections, there will be intense curiosity in political circles.

The first general election of Pimpri Municipality was held in 1986. At that time, the city was politically dominated by Congress. In the first three consecutive elections, Congress was in power in the municipality. After the formation of NCP in 1999, NCP created its own strength. In the 2002 municipal elections, Congress and the NCP fought face to face. Since no one got a clear majority, both the parties came together and took charge of the municipality. In 2007 and 2012, the NCP took over the corporation on its own. In 2017, the BJP had seized power from the NCP.