Pune: Pimpri-Chinchwad MLA Shankar Jagtap Says BJP Will Win 125 Out Of 128 PCMC Seats; NCP Leader Yogesh Behl Mocks Claim, Says He Will Quit Politics If It Happens

Pimpri-Chinchwad: In a shocking yet reiterated claim, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Chinchwad MLA Shankar Jagtap said on Saturday that now the party will win 125 seats out of a total of 128 in the upcoming Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) polls. Jagtap claimed that this is very much possible now, as the party already had the ‘Mission 100’ in mind, and with the inclusion of known faces from other parties into the BJP, the target of 125 looks realistic.

Answering to this claim, Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Pimpri-Chinchwad City President mocked the claim and said that he will leave politics for good if this happens.  

Speaking to a television media outlet, Jagtap said, “From the beginning of the campaign, we had mission 100 of the BJP in mind. Along with aiming to get the power in PCMC again, we had prepared to get over 100 seats in the civic body polls. However, with inclusions from other parties recently, we think that now winning 125 seats out of the total 128 seats is possible, and we are making preparations according to that.”

‘Winning Capacity’ Mantra

Jagtap also said that the winning capacity of the candidate will be considered while nominating leaders and ensure that no injustice will be done to anyone. “Under the orders of Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Cabinet Minister Chandrakant Patil will give orders, and the party’s list for the upcoming PCMC polls will be announced soon,” said MLA Jagtap.

With over 18 former corporators from other parties included within the BJP last week, the party loyalists are rather tense and disappointed, as they think that somewhere they are being sidelined. Loyal party workers had also staged an Atmaklesh protest, particularly against the inclusion of Rahul Kalate -- the former Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) (NCP-SP) candidate for the 2024 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections -- into the party.

Kalate is also a traditional rival of the Jagtap family, as he has contested assembly elections against the late MLA Laxman Jagtap, former MLA Ashwini Jagtap, and current MLA Shankar Jagtap. Along with that, problems persist regarding the inclusion of other leaders within the party.

Speaking about all this, MLA Shankar Jagtap said, “There is no permanent rivalry or friendship in politics. Kalate’s inclusion will be an advantage for the party. BJP works through organisational efforts. Surveys are conducted, and candidature is decided based on those findings. In the BJP, there is no concept of secret or open support. Whatever the party orders is final for us.”

NCP Slams BJP's Poll Claim

Despite being allies in the state and centre, the battle between the NCP and the BJP is fierce in PCMC. Even before a ‘friendly contest’ in Pune District was announced by the senior state leaders, the local leaders had begun poaching each other's candidates and giving befitting replies to each other’s statements.

Speaking about the Mission 125 claim by BJP MLA, NCP Pimpri-Chinchwad City President Yogesh Behl sarcastically remarked, “The BJP has two MLAs and two MLCs in the city. Maybe they are thinking that each of them will bring in 25 seats. If they think like that, I congratulate them. I can tell you with confidence they won't get 125 seats, and if they do, we will leave politics for good.”

Behl further said while speaking to reporters on Saturday, “BJP is making this claim based on the leaders they took from us. I even said it before: those leaders left because they had no faith in themselves. The citizens of Pimpri-Chinchwad know what Ajit Pawar has done for them. Even getting 100 seats is going to be hard for the BJP. In fact, we claim that the NCP will get a majority and will form power in PCMC.”