Acute shortage of water and non-regularisation of illegal structures are among issues that may play a crucial role in deciding the fate of the three sitting MLAs in Pimpri-Chinchwad. The BJP has fielded two of its sitting MLAs, Mahesh Landge from Bhosari and Laxman Jagtap from Chinchwad, while ally Shiv Sena has renominated Gautam Chabukswar from Pimpri reserved seat. Activists, local residents and current as well as former corporators say that Jagtap and Landge may face the wrath of voters who are fed up with the severe shortage of drinking water. According to them, the three MLAs have also failed to get illegal structures regularised and the penalty tax scrapped, as promised by them in the 2014 Assembly election campaign. Manav Kamble, president of the Nagari Haqq Surakasha Samiti, said, “For months, residents of Pimpri-Chinchwad have been facing a water crisis, despite the city receiving heavy rain, and the Pavana river and dam being filled to capacity. Yet, the BJP-ruled PCMC has failed to ensure equitable distribution of water.” Kamble said during the NCP’s rule in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, water was not a major issue. “But the BJP promised to further improve the water situation in the 2017 civic elections and managed to come to power in the PCMC. During BJP’s rule, the water situation has only worsened.,” he said. The acute drinking water shortage has evoked anger from residents and politicians alike, with corporators across party lines attacking the civic administration and questioning the silence of MLAs on the issue at the civic general body meeting. The civic administration, led by Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar, had to withdraw its plan of supplying water on alternate days after extreme opposition to it. The PCMC administration has argued that it does not have a proper system in place to ensure equal distribution of water to all areas. Shridhar Chalkha, a resident of Sambhajinagar, said, “I have been following the PCMC administration for three decades, but I have never seen such poor rulers and inefficient civic administration. How can the administration deny water to the people when the river and dam are full?” Sachin Rangdal, a resident of Bhosari, said issues such as regularising illegal constructions and waiving penalty tax have been discussed for nearly 8-10 years. “It seems like political parties, including the ruling party, want to keep these issues going to gain political capital. These issues could have been resolved a long time ago if the parties had the will to do so. Whether it’s the NCP or BJP, they seem to be the same. They want to keep the issues pending for their own political interests,” he said. “. Not a single structure has been regularised so far. They also promised to get the penalty tax reduced. the demand from residents was for a complete waiver of penalty tax. This has not happened and there is lot of resentment among voters.,” said activist Maruti Bhapkar. Pravin Rayate, a resident of Kalewadi, said the BJP and Shiv Sena had three MLAs and one MP, but they had all failed to resolve the stalled Pavana pipeline project. "Work on the pipeline stopped nine years ago. they failed to bring the agitating Maval farmers to the negotiating table," he said.
