Pune: Years Of Loyalty Ignored? BJP Grassroots Workers Cry Foul Over ‘Imported Candidates’ In Pimpri-Chinchwad

Pimpri-Chinchwad: Imagine working hard every day for an institution for years, aspiring that one day it will give you a chance to move ahead in your career. However, when a promotion or leadership opportunity is announced, the institution instead brings in candidates from outside rather than promoting those who helped build it.

This is exactly what is happening in Pimpri-Chinchwad within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and this area is also mirroring a trend seen at the national level.

Ever since the elections for the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) were announced, local BJP workers have been working hard for relevance and an opportunity. They utilised every platform from Ganeshotsav 2025 to social media to spread word of mouth about the work they have done.

With their resumes on full display before the party leadership and city residents, they received an ‘expected shock’. However, as in recent elections, the BJP has started importing candidates from other parties to strengthen its chances in the upcoming PCMC elections.

A total of 17 candidates from other parties, including the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Nationalist Congress Party - Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP), Indian National Congress, and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), entered the party in the presence of BJP Maharashtra State President Ravindra Chavan on Saturday (20th December).

To make matters worse, former NCP-SP Maharashtra Legislative Assembly candidate Rahul Kalate also joined the party on Tuesday. Kalate’s inclusion was the most opposed inclusion of all, as he is a traditional rival of the Jagtap Family of Chinchwad -- for whom many of the BJP’s local cadre are loyal.

Opposition Made Clear Before Inclusion Of 18 Leaders

On Friday, one day before the mega inclusion of leaders into the BJP, to ensure these outsiders are not given BJP tickets, the party's loyalist workers had registered an 'Atmaklesh' (Self-Anguish) protest. The workers had warned that if ‘imported’ people are given tickets despite their opposition, they will adopt a stance of resistance. They stated clearly that if the party does not respect their loyalty, they will be forced to think against the party and are even ready to rebel to save their existence.

Several leaders within the BJP have a traditional rivalry with the people included on Saturday, as their political ideologies have never matched before. This included former Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former mayor Sanjog Waghere and ex-NCP-SP leader Rahul Kalate. The opposition to Kalate was so much that the party included him in the party three days later, instead of on Saturday.  

The protesters had said that they had contributed to every programme assigned by the centre and the state for the party. The protesters said, “Some time ago, the then BJP State President Chandrashekhar Bawankule set a target that aspiring candidates who enrol one thousand members would be given tickets for the PCMC elections. We have fulfilled that target. Now, taking people from other parties into the BJP at the last moment would be an injustice to us.”

The protesters demanded accountability, saying that the senior leaders should tell us where we went wrong and what the definition of a loyalist worker is.

‘Stay Quiet or Leave’

Ignored party workers claim that the work done by the BJP at the central and state levels has reached the public. Those from other parties looking to join the BJP have done no work in their original parties. That is why they are coming here to contest elections on the strength of the BJP's achievements. The BJP has given the slogan 'Mission 100+' for the Pimpri-Chinchwad elections. “This slogan will only be successful if loyalists get the tickets; otherwise, it won't,” said a local leader.

Speaking about the party’s happenings recently, a BJP loyalist based in Pimpri-Chinchwad told The Free Press Journal, “Not only here, but leaders are also being included everywhere. Workers like us are the reason the party is in power in the state and centre. Speaking of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, the party already has a strong base here because we contributed to creating it. However, our contributions are being ignored.”

The worker, requesting anonymity, also said, “After we made our concerns known to the party leadership and spoke to the media, the senior party leaders told us to keep quiet and work. If we disagree, we are open to leaving. We spent our whole life working for the party, and this is what we get.”

Angry leaders have started leaving the party, and BJP loyalist and former corporator Sandeep Waghere left the party on Monday. He joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. Although he didn't say it, the city’s political watchers know his traditional rivalry with former PCMC mayor Sanjog Waghere, and this might have resulted in his resignation from the party.

Sources said that some more leaders are expected to leave the party soon or withdraw from the election process if their demands aren't met.