Baramati civic polls postponed to December 20 after candidates challenge process in court

The election process for other civic bodies will proceed as scheduled. The State Election Commission had declared elections for 14 nagar parishads and three panchayt samitis in Pune district.

In Baramati, elections are to be held for 41 seats with a direct contest between the Ajit Pawar-led NCP and the alliance of the NCP(SP), Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Congress. This is the third recent election in Baramati, after the Lok Sabha and the Assembly polls. The Lok Sabha seat was won by NCP(SP) working president Supriya Sule by defeating her sister-in-law Sunetra Pawar, wife of the NCP chief, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. In the Assembly election, Ajit Pawar defeated his nephew Yugendra Pawar.

According to a statement from the State Election Commission, the current process has been rendered “irregular” because of the delayed disposal of candidate appeals and the subsequent denial of a mandatory withdrawal window.

NCP leader Kiran Gujar said the State Election Commission postponed civic polls of Baramati nagar parishad after a few candidates challenged the election process. “The election of the entire Baramati civic body will be held on December 20 so that everyone gets a fair opportunity in the contest after issues were raised in the court,” he said.

No new application for candidature will be accepted. Only those who have filed nominations till now will be considered. Voting will take place on December 20, and results will be declared on December 21.