Ajit Pawar’s NCP continues domination in Pune, wins 10 of 17 local bodies

Sharad Pawar's NCP gets only one seat in Baramati, Tambe-Thorat combine gets Sangmaner.

Ajit Pawar, NCP, Pune district, local bodies, municipal councils, nagar panchayats, Eknath Shinde,After the results of the Phursungi-Uruli Devachi Municipal Council, the winning members of Ajit Pawar's faction of the Nationalist Congress Party celebrated their victory on a grand scale in Phursungi, near Pune city. (Express Photo By Pavan Khengre)

The Ajit Pawar-led NCP continued its dominance in Pune district, as the party won 10 out of 17 local bodies in this district. As the results of elections to 17 local self-government bodies in Pune – 14 municipal councils and three nagar panchayats – were announced Sunday, 10 were won by the NCP, four by the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and three by the BJP.

NCP won in Lonavala, Daund, Indapur, Jejuri, Baramati, Phursungi, Wadgaon Maval and Malegaon. Of the 17 local self government bodies, at 10 places, NCP got its candidates elected as council presidents. Chakan, Manchar, Rajgurunagar and Junnar municipal councils were won by Shiv Sena, while BJP secured Saswad, Alandi and Talegaon.

In Talegaon, Bhor and Shirur, BJP and NCP were in alliance. In Talegaon, NCP has secured majority of seats but BJP candidate was elected as council president. In Shirur and Bhor, BJP has secured majority but NCP candidates have become the council presidents.

“The mandate which NCP received is the victory of development, stability and politics in the interest of people. We will live up to the trust that voters have shown in us through our work,” said NCP national president Ajit Pawar.

In the prestigious Baramati Municipal Council polls, while Ajit Pawar’s NCP won a landslide victory winning 35 out of the 41 seats, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP had to remain content with only one seat.

However, as many as six Opposition candidates got elected for the first time.

“We might have lost the Baramati Municipal Council elections but for the first time in Baramati polls, six opposition candidates have been elected. Otherwise, Baramati elections have always been one-sided,” Yugendra Pawar, of NCP (SP) told The Indian Express.

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Yugendra had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly elections last year against his uncle Ajit Pawar.

”We might have won only one seat but three independent candidates who were backed us have also won,” said Yugendra adding that six candidates of his party lost only by 100-150 votes.

NCP candidate Sachin Satav was elected as Baramati council president.

Among those who lost Baramati civic polls was the NCP’s women wing president who was defeated by independent candidate Sampada Bankar.

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The youngest to win in Baramati is advocate Sanghmitra Choudhari, 21, who defeated NCP’s Swati Ahiwale. Sanghmitra is the daughter of Kaluram Choudhari of Bahujan Samaj Party, who has strongly opposed the Pawar family.

Kaluram Choudhari also unsuccessfully contested for council president’s post. OBC leader Laxman Hake, who had campaigned for Sanghmitra, congratulated her for the victory. ”On the concluding day of the Baramati election campaign, I had predicted that she will win and she has won,” he said.

Senior NCP leader Kiran Gujar’s brother Jitendra Gujar was defeated by independent candidate Yashpal Sunil Pote.

In Lonavala Municipal Council, which was ruled by BJP from 2016 to 2022, the NCP won 16 out of the 27 seats. While the BJP got four seats, three seats each were won by Congress and independent candidates, and Shiv Sena (UBT) secured one seat.

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Rajendra Sonawane of the NCP was elected as the council president after he defeated BJP’s Girish Kamble by over 10,000 votes.

In Talegaon nagar panchayat, Mahayuti won 27 out of the 28 seats – NCP 17 and BJP 10. One seat was won by a rebel NCP candidate. Santosh Dabhade of BJP has been elected has been council president. The BJP had ruled the nagar panchayat from 2016-2021.

In the Sangamner Municipal Council in Ahilynanar, Sangamner Seva Samiti of the Satyajit Tambe, nephew of senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat, won a decisive mandate winning 27 of the 30 seats. Dr Maithili Tambe, wife of Satyajit Tambe, won by 16,644 votes. The election had become a direct fight between Thorat-Tambe versus Shiv Sena-BJP alliance.

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and former MP Sujay Vikhe-Patil had campaigned for the Sena-BJP alliance in Sangamner. In the last year’s Assembly elections, eight-time sitting MLA Thorat was defeated by Amol Khatal of the Shiv Sena which had rattled the senior Congress leader. His supporters termed Sunday’s victory as a “sweet revenge”.

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“This victory shows the immense confidence reposed in us by the people of Sangamner. Now through Sangamner 2.0, we will change the face of the city,” Tambe said.

In Angar Nagar Panchayat election in Solapur district, where Ajit Pawar-led NCP and BJP had locked horns, all 17 BJP candidates were declared elected unopposed.

Prajakta Patil, daughter-in-law of former MLA Rajan Patil, who had recently switched over to BJP from NCP, was elected unopposed as the nagar panchayat president.

”Despite the wild allegations made by our rivals, the people of Angar have voted decisively in our favour,” Patil said.

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The Angar Nagar Panchayat was in the news when NCP candidate Ujwala Thite was allegedly prevented by her rivals from filing her nomination.

The police and the district administration then provided her the security of 200 personnel to file nomination.

”This must be first time in the history of the country that a candidate was provided 200 security personnel so that she can file her nomination without being threatened. One can just imagine the kind of terror that was unleashed in Angar by our opponents,” Umesh Patil, president of NCP Solapur district, told The Indian Express.

In Sangola, Shiv Sena leader Shahaji Bapu won the municipal council polls. BJP, Shiv Sena (UBT) and PWP had joined hands to defeat him. ”We have put in hard work for last 40 years in our constituency. The people of Sangola did not like BJP taking the support of Uddhav Sena. They tried to isolate me. However, the people gave them a befitting reply,” said Shahaji Bapu Patil.

Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades.   Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives. Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees. During Covid, over 50 doctors were  asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each for getting a job with PCMC. The PCMC administration alerted Manoj More who did a story on the subject, asking then corporators how much money they demanded....The story worked as doctors got the job without paying a single paisa. Manoj More has also covered the "Latur drought" situation in 2015 when a "Latur water train" created quite a buzz in Maharashtra. He also covered the Malin tragedy where over 150 villagers had died.     Manoj More is on Facebook with 4.9k followers (Manoj More), on twitter manojmore91982 ... Read More

Ajay Jadhav is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, Pune, a role that reflects his seniority and editorial Authority. He is a highly specialized journalist whose work demonstrates significant Expertise in the critical areas of urban development, governance, and sustainability, often linking policy to its on-the-ground impact across Maharashtra. Expertise Senior Editorial Role: As an Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, Ajay Jadhav contributes to the editorial direction and maintains high standards of Trustworthiness and quality in his reporting. Core Specialization: His reporting focuses intensely on the intersection of infrastructure, politics, and social development, with expertise in: Infrastructure and Civic Issues: Provides in-depth coverage of crucial development and urban governance topics. His work includes reporting on the glaring contrast between planned infrastructure projects (like private helipads) and the lack of basic facilities (schools and hospitals) in politically significant areas, highlighting accountability gaps. Politics and Governance: Consistently reports on political developments, scrutinizing decision-making that affects public life and development initiatives in Maharashtra. Sustainable Development & Environment: Demonstrates a commitment to responsible development by reporting on initiatives that successfully protect the environment while ensuring essential infrastructure development. Investigative and Policy Impact: National Impact: Ajay has written notable research articles on Conservancy staff which achieved a nationwide impact by directly contributing to the framing of policies aimed at improving the working conditions of waste-handling laborers. This demonstrates his capacity for impactful, evidence-based journalism. Additional Interests Personal Engagement: His background as a trekker and sports enthusiast suggests a keen personal interest in the environment and outdoor spaces, which likely informs his detailed and passionate reporting on sustainable development and civic issues. Ajay Jadhav's sustained focus on governance, his track record of high-impact policy-shaping research, and his critical eye for infrastructure gaps establish him as a trusted and authoritative source for news and analysis in Pune and Maharashtra. ... Read More


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