Pimpri-Chinchwad: While municipal election results were being declared across Maharashtra on Friday, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) lagged behind, with no official winners announced even as of 3 pm. This delay stood in sharp contrast to other civic bodies in the state, including Mumbai, Pune, Kolhapur, Thane and Nagpur, where results were steadily being declared.
Despite counting having begun at 10 am across eight counting centres in the city, no official announcements were made by any regional ward office or counting centre of the PCMC by mid-afternoon. Although several candidates and their supporters had begun celebrating based on internal tallies and trends, the civic body refrained from declaring any winners formally.
The delay further highlighted concerns over PCMC’s election-related communication, which had faced criticism since the nomination stage for consistently releasing information later than other municipal corporations. In comparison, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had officially announced several winners by the time this report was filed.
So far, only two results in the PCMC elections have been officially declared, both of which were decided unopposed before polling. Ravi Landge was declared elected unopposed from Ward 6B after his sole rival withdrew their nomination, while BJP candidate Supriya Chandgude was elected unopposed from Ward 10B. In total, four candidates -- one each from the NCP and MNS, along with two Independents -- withdrew their nominations ahead of polling.
Polling for the remaining seats in both PMC and PCMC was held on Thursday, January 15, amid average voter turnout and several on-ground issues, including EVM glitches and voter list discrepancies. The elections were conducted under the four-member ward system, with four corporators to be elected from each ward.
Of the total 128 seats in PCMC, two were decided unopposed, while voting was held for the remaining 126 seats across 2,067 polling stations. A total of 692 candidates contested the elections, including 527 candidates from recognised political parties and 165 Independents.
Addressing the delay, PCMC Commissioner Shravan Hardikar said that the results would be announced shortly, adding that official declarations were expected by around 4 pm.
