Pune: BJP Nominates Shrinath Bhimale For Standing Committee Chairman Post; Election On February 23

Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Ravindra Chavan on Wednesday nominated corporator Shrinath Bhimale for the post of Standing Committee chairman of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The election, which is set to be held on February 23, is likely to go unopposed.

There are a total of 16 members in the Standing Committee. Out of these, 12 members are from the BJP, two from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and one from the Congress.

Apart from Bhimale, the other BJP corporators in the Standing Committee include Rupali Dhadve, Kalinda Punde, Jayashree Bhumkar, Vishal Dhanwade, Prachi Alhat, Dada Kodre, Mayuri Kokate, Vrushali Kamathe, Sandeep Beldare, and Ratnamala Satav. The NCP representatives include Amol Balwadkar, Vaishali Bankar, and Suhas Tingre, while the Congress has chosen Prashant Jagtap.

After the election for the post of chairman of the Standing Committee, elections for the posts of chairpersons of other committees such as the City Improvement Committee, the Sports Committee, the Education Committee, the Women and Child Welfare Committee, the Naming Committee, and the Legal Committee will be held.

Earlier, BJP leaders Shrinath Bhimale and Ganesh Bidkar were contenders for the mayoral post. However, the position was reserved for a woman from the general category, so the saffron party chose Manjusha Nagpure. Bidkar was appointed as the Leader of the House, leaving Bhimale to head the Standing Committee.

Bhimale was also in the running for the post of party chief in the city. However, the BJP retained its faith in Dheeraj Ghate, asking him to continue his term. Bhimale was also keen on contesting the 2024 Assembly polls from the Parvati constituency but backed out of the contest after intervention from senior party leaders.