Pune: Bharatiya Janata Party Bars 69 Workers For Six Years After PMC Polls; Timing Raises Questions

Pune: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has enforced disciplinary measures against 69 of its workers, barring them from the party for six years over alleged indiscipline linked to ticket-related disputes during the recent Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections. However, the action has drawn attention for being initiated only after the polls. It has prompted debate about how effective it will be.

For starters, it includes the names of workers who left the party and got elected from other parties. For example, the list also has the name of Amol Balwadkar, who got elected from the Baner-Balewadi area from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Before the elections, around 2,500 aspirants had applied for BJP nominations. With only 165 seats available in PMC across 41 wards, several long-time party functionaries were left out. The situation led to further unrest as the BJP also poached candidates from other parties and gave them the ticket.

While some dissatisfied members entered the fray as independents, others were accused of undermining officially nominated candidates. Many defected from the party at the last moment, and other parties gave them the chance.

Following the elections, BJP’s Pune city president Dheeraj Ghate prepared a list of 69 individuals accused of anti-party conduct and announced their suspension. Significantly, sources and political observers claim that many of those named had already drifted away from the organisation. This has raised doubts over the real impact of the move.

BJP city president Ghate has announced the names on the list in which assembly constituency-wise bifurcation has been done. The numbers are Shivajinagar (7), Kothrud (6), Kasba (6), Hadapsar (19), Kharadi (9), Vadgaonsheri (8), Pune Cantonment (9) and Parvati (4).

Ghate said the action was taken on the directives of the BJP Maharashtra State president, Ravindra Chavan. The party has asserted that violations of party discipline would not be tolerated. Political analysts, however, point out that earlier intervention might have limited electoral setbacks. Whether the suspensions will rein in factionalism or prove merely symbolic remains to be seen.