Pimpri Chinchwad: A competition has begun between the BJP and the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction), who are contesting the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections independently, over luring former corporators from each other's camps.
After Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar inducted two former corporators, including a former chairman of the BJP's Standing Committee, into his party, the BJP has now delivered a major blow to Ajit Pawar's NCP and the Shiv Sena (Thackeray) party. Seventeen former corporators from various parties, including two former deputy mayors and two former chairmen of the Standing Committee, joined the BJP in Mumbai today (Saturday).
After Ajit Pawar poached two former BJP corporators, the local BJP unit also geared up for action. The BJP began preparing to retaliate against the NCP with similar tactics. Accordingly, they inducted former corporators from the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction).
Among them, former Deputy Mayor Raju Misal, Prabhakar Waghere, former Standing Committee Chairman and Working President Prashant Shitole, Usha Waghere, former Leader of the Opposition Vinod Nadhe, former corporators Samir Masulkar, Prasad Shetty, Praveen Bhalekar, Jalinder Shinde, former corporator Asha Suryavanshi, and Kushagra Kadam, son of former Mayor Mangala Kadam, have joined the BJP.
Former corporator Ravi Landge, who had left the BJP for the Shiv Sena (Thackeray) party, has returned to his original party. Along with him, Shiv Sena (Thackeray) city chief and former mayor Sanjog Waghere, former corporators Amit Gawade, Minal Yadav, Sanjay Kate, former Congress corporators Sadguru Kadam, Sachin Sanap, Sukhdev Narale, Dr Suhas Kamble, Ashok Magar, and Nagesh Gawli have also joined the BJP. Independent former corporator Navnath Jagtap has also joined the party.
BJP poses a strong challenge to Ajit Pawar
The city of Pimpri-Chinchwad was once a stronghold of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. However, in 2017, the BJP wrested power from the Nationalist Congress Party. The BJP's number of corporators increased from three to 77. Pawar, who ruled the city single-handedly for 15 years, expressed his desire for an alliance with the BJP in the municipal elections.
Most of his party's former corporators also held the same view regarding the alliance. However, the city BJP insisted on contesting the elections independently. Consequently, as soon as the elections were announced, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis clarified that the BJP would contest the elections independently in Pimpri-Chinchwad. He stated that there would be a friendly contest with the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar). The BJP has posed a tough challenge to Pawar.
Ajit Pawar to put everything on the line
Deputy Chief Minister Pawar has announced that he will put everything on the line to bring the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) back to power in the municipal corporation. He has started reaching out to disgruntled former corporators from the BJP.
He inducted former BJP Standing Committee chairperson Seema Sawale, former corporator Ashwini Jadhav, along with former Shiv Sena (Thackeray) corporator Sachin Bhosale and former Shiv Sena (Shinde) corporator Pramod Kute into his party. The party claims that seven to eight former BJP corporators are in contact with them.
