Pune: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has finalised seven names for the posts of co-opted corporators in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The party drew them from a pool of nearly 400 aspirants who had expressed interest in the position.
The names were announced on Monday at a press conference by the BJP’s PMC group leader, Ganesh Madhukar Bidkar. He declared the party’s nominees for the co-opted corporator positions. The selected candidates include Nilesh Kondhalkar, Priyanka Shendge, Vishwas Nanaware, Rajendra Kakade, Ravi Salegaonkar, Jayprakash Purohit and Uday Lele.
Meanwhile, other parties have also announced their nominees. The Congress has nominated Sunil Shinde, while Rakesh Kamathe and Datta Dhankawade are being considered by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Since the BJP has 119 corporators in the PMC, it is eligible to nominate seven co-opted members. The NCP and Congress can nominate two and one member, respectively. Under the existing rules, the civic body appoints 10 co-opted corporators from specialised sectors such as health, education, environment, social work, and women and child welfare.
Under the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act, co-opted members can participate in debates and raise issues during general body meetings, but they do not have voting rights. Beyond the general body, the MMC framework also allows parties to nominate co-opted members to ward committees.
These nominees must come from recognised NGOs or community-based organisations engaged in social welfare in the respective ward. They must also be registered voters in that area, giving political parties an opportunity to promote individuals associated with civil society.
In a surprise move, the Congress party has nominated Sunil Shinde, president of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) and a prominent labour leader, for the nominated corporator position. While several aspirants were reportedly lobbying for the post, the party surprised many by announcing Shinde’s name.
