‘Be Aggressive & Vocal’: Ajit Pawar’s Final Order To His Workers Echoes In Pune & Pimpri-Chinchwad Politics

Pune: Before the late Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died in a tragic private aircraft crash in Baramati on 28th January, he delivered what would later be seen as his final political message to his workers. At the time, Pawar was unaware that it would be his last address, but his words have since taken on added significance.

Addressing elected corporators of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) after the elections, where his party had an underwhelming performance, Pawar urged them to be aggressive and vocal against the administration and to demand accountability on civic issues.

With elected representatives set to assume control of both civic bodies in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pawar’s message is expected to shape the political approach going forward. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Ajit Pawar, has appointed leaders of the opposition in both civic bodies, signalling a more confrontational and assertive political strategy in line with his final call.

On Friday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will elect mayors in both cities. The NCP have also chosen their group leaders who will lead their party and others as the leader of the opposition. For Pune city, senior NCP leader Nilesh Nikam will be the leader of the opposition, while senior corporator Bhausaheb Bhoir will lead the opposition in PCMC. Bhoir has previously held the same position.

As leaders of the opposition, these two leaders from Pune district are now expected to carry forward Ajit Pawar’s final political mantra for the next five years.

What had Ajit Pawar said?

Ajit Pawar made the battle for PMC and PCMC one for his prestige, as he put everything he had on the line. However, his party still had an underwhelming performance, as they could not only get a majority but also missed it by a full margin.

Out of 165 seats, the BJP won 119, making it the clear majority party. The NCP secured 27 seats, the Indian National Congress won 15, and NCP (SP) took 3. Meanwhile, in PCMC, out of 128 seats, the BJP won 84 seats, while the NCP secured 37 seats.

After this, Ajit Pawar jokingly said in a media interaction, “Punekars didn't give us the expected response.” However, he was quite stern when he addressed the elected representatives in Pune’s Shivajinagar office of the NCP.

Shortly after the elections, Ajit Pawar told his workers, “Staying quiet will not work anymore. You must become aggressive regarding the scale of corruption that has infested Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. You are the representatives of the people; do not stay under anyone’s pressure. Go into the municipal corporation, demand answers from the officials, and pull out the files. If the people’s problems are not being solved, then take to the streets and be vocal."

Ajit Pawar didn't get support from his own people.

Ajit Pawar adopted an unusually aggressive tone while campaigning for the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic body elections. During his speeches, Pawar directly targeted Union Minister of State and Pune MP Murlidhar Mohol, Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Chandrakant Patil, and Bhosari MLA Mahesh Landge.

All three leaders, who belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party, had managed to defeat Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party in its traditional strongholds of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) during the 2017 elections. Pawar repeatedly criticised them on this very issue, accusing the BJP leadership of corruption and poor governance.

However, local NCP leaders largely maintained silence during the campaign. Instead of openly backing Pawar’s aggressive attacks, they issued vague and diplomatic statements. This apparent lack of support reportedly irked Pawar, who was stern with party leaders over their approach.

This, according to political observers, is one of the reasons why the NCP opted for a more studious and low-profile leader like Nilesh Nikam as the Leader of the Opposition in Pune and a senior corporator such as Bhausaheb Bhoir in Pimpri-Chinchwad.