Suburbs, merged villages get more representation than central Pune in ward draft plan
Suburbs and merged villages will have more representation than central parts of Pune in the upcoming civic polls
Pune: Suburbs and merged villages will have more representation than central parts of Pune in the upcoming civic polls. According to the draft ward structure released on Friday, suburbs and merged areas together will elect 85 corporators, while central city areas will pick 80 public representatives.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had dominated the last polls in the old city, appears to have retained its stronghold. Most of the wards where all four BJP corporators won in 2017 remain largely unchanged, with only nominal alterations. On the other hand, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which has influence in several merged villages, faces a setback as its wards have been redrawn and expanded.
Congress city unit president Arvind Shinde alleged that the delimitation has been carried out in a way that makes it difficult for opposition parties to gain ground. “New areas have been added in existing wards, while in some cases housing societies have been split between two wards. We will verify this and produce evidence,” he said.
BJP leader Ganesh Bidkar defended the structure, saying, “The merged villages are naturally aligned with the suburban areas. It is incorrect to claim they should have been attached to the central wards. If the opposition has objections, they should use the legal route.”
A senior BJP functionary, requesting anonymity, said, “It is natural for us to protect our dominance in the core city where we had an absolute majority. But we will also accommodate alliance partners. Similarly, NCP will insist on maximum share in the district-level seat-sharing.”
NCP sources, however, indicated that the party is unhappy with the structure. “Given our base in certain parts of Pune, we may consider contesting independently while keeping it a friendly fight. The final decision will be taken by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar,” a party insider said.
