Pune: With the battle to take control of two key civic bodies in Pune district entering a crucial phase, the past week has witnessed unprecedented political scenes, as alliance partners turned personal and openly attacked each other. With less than five days remaining before Punekars head to the polls for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) elections, tensions within alliances have spilt into the open.
At the centre of the storm is Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who is both launching attacks on and facing sharp criticism from his allies at the state and Centre, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). What began as a “friendly contest” between the BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad soon turned bitter, as local leaders clashed publicly. The situation further deteriorated when senior state leaders joined the fray, trading barbs over control of Pune for the next five years.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on 15th December that a “friendly contest” would take place between the BJP and the NCP, as the two parties could not contest together due to a large number of aspirants seeking tickets. At the time, Fadnavis said the move was intended to prevent any third party from gaining an advantage in the elections.
However, local leaders appeared to seize the opportunity the moment the contest was announced, quickly making aggressive political moves. While the BJP is largely contesting on its own -- with support from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in some parts of Pune but contesting separately in Pimpri-Chinchwad -- both factions of the NCP have reunited for the civic polls. Estranged cousins Ajit Pawar and Baramati MP Supriya Sule jointly released the party’s manifesto for the PMC elections on Saturday.
Ajit Pawar has taken an aggressive stance against key BJP leaders in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, including Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Cooperation and Pune MP Murlidhar Mohol, along with his loyal aide, BJP Bhosari MLA Mahesh Landge. In response, senior BJP leaders at the state level came out to defend their colleagues, launching counterattacks against Pawar. This included Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Minister of Higher and Technical Education Chandrakant Patil, and BJP State President Ravindra Chavan.
Meanwhile, Pawar’s NCP has also targeted local BJP leaders, further intensifying the political brawl. Adding another twist, former MLA Ravindra Dhangekar of the Shinde Sena has joined in, criticising Mohol and Chandrakant Patil in support of Ajit Pawar.
Ajit Pawar's Recent Attacks on the BJP:
- "The local BJP has turned into a gang of robbers. They have treated the PCMC like a private ATM, looting the taxpayers' money through inflated contracts and Smart City scams." (Ajit Pawar on BJP leaders in Pimpri-Chinchwad)
- "I was accused of a Rs 70,000 crore scam in irrigation projects, yet I am sharing the government with those very people who made the allegations."
- "When the NCP left power, the PCMC had fixed deposits of over Rs 3,000 crore. Ideally, that should have grown to Rs 10,000 crore by now. Instead, under BJP rule, resources were drained to benefit party workers and relatives. Today, the corporation faces a debt crisis because funds were diverted to satisfy the greed of local BJP leaders."
- "One specific person was helped to flee abroad. Who helped him? There should be an inquiry into this. Those who point fingers at others should first explain their own connections with criminals who have run away to foreign lands." (Ajit Pawar on Mohol)
- "They say I have no vision? I built the infrastructure that they are currently using to put up their campaign posters. When they had power for five years, their only 'vision' was to empty the municipal treasury. The people of Pune know who is a builder and who is a looter." (Pawar on BJP)
BJP Reply To Pawar
- “The opposition are asked many questions for which they have no answers. Therefore, while they try to turn the election discussion from development into arguments and question-and-answer sessions, many people find their voice (start speaking out) only when elections arrive. Do not get angry just because they are angry.” (CM Fadnavis on Pawar on Saturday)
- "I am not big enough to tell Ajit Pawar what to do or give him instructions. I don't know why he spoke like that, but he should have stuck to what was agreed upon. In truth, Ajit Pawar should not have spoken this way. He is an important leader of the state, so I won't offer him much advice. He was in power in Pimpri-Chinchwad for many years. If we turn back the pages of history, even Ajit Pawar will find it difficult to defend. We have no desire to dig up the past. The Rs 70,000 crore scam allegedly linked to Ajit Pawar is still pending before the court” (Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Ajit Pawar).
- “Everyone knows the circumstances under which Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar joined hands with the BJP. Party office-bearers were telling me to ‘think twice’ about taking him along. Now, we feel a sense of regret for having taken Pawar with us.” (Ravindra Chavan on Pawar).
- “Since Ajit Pawar knows that his party will not come to power in the Municipal Corporation, such announcements are being made. Pawar should not make such announcements without taking his ally parties into confidence just to take credit. Previously, in 1999, Ajit Pawar had announced free electricity. After coming to power, he defended it by saying it was a 'printing mistake’. Ajit Pawar’s announcements are deceptive.” (Chandrakant Patil on Ajit Pawar and the NCP Manifesto).
- "The Pune guardian minister (Ajit Pawar) talks about cracking down on criminals and eliminating the koyta gang, but these claims seem hollow when we look at their candidate list... Maintaining law and order is the primary responsibility of elected representatives. Giving tickets to people associated with criminals will definitely disturb peace in Pune. Citizens are wise and will respond through the EVMs.” (Murlidhar Mohol on Ajit Pawar)
Others Join the Fray
- “When police hauled you off like a bundle, you were hiding under Ajit Dada’s protection. You just constantly wag your tongue without thinking. Mind your words when speaking about Ajit Dada. Your master might be your father, but Ajit Pawar is the one who taught you the basics of politics. You are hiding everything under the cover of the BJP because you looted PCMC funds by showing Rs 70 lakh worth of work as Rs 7 crore. You used to milk buffaloes before; how do you have a company in London now?” (Rupali Thombre Patil on Mahesh Landge and BJP leaders in PCMC).
- “Mahesh Landge calls Ajit Dada the 'Aaka' of Maharashtra? Maybe he meant to say 'Kaka' (Uncle), but his tongue slipped. But let’s be clear: if Dada is the 'Aaka', then Landge is merely a small-time 'entry-level' player who has forgotten who taught him to walk in politics.” (NCP MLC Amol Mitkari on Landge)
- Ex-MLA and Shiv Sena leader targeted allies Murlidhar Mohol and Chandrakant Patil through X (formerly Twitter). When Mohol said he would leave politics if Ajit Pawar’s accusations were true, Dhangekar tweeted, “You were also involved in the Jain Boarding House matter. Why don't you issue a similar challenge for that? Let there be an impartial investigation. Let the truth come out. All of Pune knows how deeply the 'builder-friendly' MP is entangled in the Jain scam.”
- On Chandrakant Patil, Dhangekar tweeted, “Chandrakant Patil said that Amol Balwadkar’s ticket was cut because of a viral video with gangsters. If Chandrakant Patil were truly that sensitive, would hooliganism have flourished so much in Kothrud? In a photo, Patil and the notorious gangster Nilesh Ghaywal can be seen together. Patil, who gives lessons on morality regarding hooliganism, should follow the same rule he applied to Balwadkar and go back to Kolhapur.”
- “There are two Garudas in this area -- one with a beard and one without. Like in KGF, where Garuda employed only his people to mine and sell gold, similarly, here too, these two Garudas are behaving as if they own the municipal corporation. They have taken cuts in everything -- from small contracts to big ones. We are not saying we own this city. This city is owned by common people like you. We have set this ‘gundagardi’ aside. Like in KGF, there was a character called Rocky Bhai, who helped the common people. In this city, Rocky Bhai is none other than Ajit Dada.” (NCP-SP MLA Rohit Pawar)
