Pimpri-Chinchwad: Corporator Prashant Shitole has been appointed as the Group Leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), the party announced on Sunday. Since the BJP Group Leader will also serve as the Leader of the House, Shitole will hold both responsibilities.
The BJP has secured a one-sided majority in the PCMC for the second consecutive time, winning a maximum of 84 seats. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) comes second with 37 seats, and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena won six, while one seat was won by an independent candidate (backed by BJP) out of a total of 128 seats.
Prashant Shitole, formerly with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), joined the BJP prior to the municipal elections along with many others. This is his fourth term as a corporator. He previously served as the Chairman of the Standing Committee.
With the group leader hailing from the Chinchwad Assembly constituency, there is strong speculation that the mayor’s post may also remain within the same constituency. As the reservation for mayor has fallen to the General category, it's speculated that BJP Pimpri-Chinchwad city president Shatrughna Kate will become the mayor. Even Rahul Kalate is another candidate from the constituency.
Nominations for the Mayor and Deputy Mayor posts will be filed on Monday (2nd February) between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM. According to reports, the Standing Committee Chairmanship is likely to be allotted to the Bhosari constituency. Two-time corporator Ravi Landge is a big name coming up in this.
Meanwhile, Prashant Shitole will lead the house as the BJP’s term has begun. He was elected from Ward 32 (Sangvi Gaothan) in the Chinchwad Assembly constituency. Despite being in the Chinchwad area, he is known to be a close associate of MLA Mahesh Landge. The BJP officially registered its group at the Divisional Commissioner’s office on Saturday. City President Shatrughan Kate confirmed Shitole’s appointment.
