PCMC poll: BJP confident of romping home with big win, NCP relies on Ajit Pawar’s charisma

The BJP is discounting the possibility that Ajit Pawar’s campaign would have a major impact on the polls. ”I don’t think his campaign will dent our chances of returning to power. We are anyways returning to power and that too in a far better way than the 2017 elections,” said Jagtap.

In the 2017 elections, BJP had won 78 wards. Otherwise in every election since Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation came into being in 1986, BJP struggled to even reach the double digit mark. In 2017 elections, it changed strategy, imported several NCP leaders and won a brute majority.

Shatrughan Kate, president of Pimpri-Chinchwad BJP unit said, ”The NCP might have succeeded in enlivening the poll campaigning but people of Pimpri-Chinchwad are well aware of the development that BJP brought to the city. And therefore we are hopeful of repeating our performance of 2017 elections. I am expecting victory in 80 wards. It might go even beyond that. Ajit Pawar’s campaign will certainly not affect our chances of returning to power. BJP will return to power and return with a bang.”

BJP’s Bhosari MLA Mahesh Landge, who was targeted by Ajit Pawar during his campaigning, said, ”On the back of our development projects and welfare measures implemented by the central and state governments, we are fully confident of regaining power in PCMC. No matter what some people said or made allegations, they have failed to convince the voters. This is because the voters themselves are aware about the way the BJP worked for the development of the industrial city. We will continue in the same vein in our next term as well.”

On the other hand, NCP Pimpri-Chinchwad president Yogesh Behl said, ”I do not want to make any tall claims. We will win at least 50 seats. And with the help of Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde which is contesting 60 seats and some independents, we are hoping to regain power which we lost in 2017.”

The NCP had won only 36 seats in 2017 elections and lost power to BJP. Otherwise the NCP and Congress had ruled PCMC from 1986.

Unlike Behl, another NCP leader Ajit Gavhane, who was given Bhosari area’s 46 wards to handle by the Deputy Chief Minister said, ”The way our president Ajit Pawar campaigned throughout Pimpri-Chinchwad, it has created quite a buzz in the industrial city. The atmosphere is clearly in our favour and we will win majority of seats. Wait till tomorrow to the see our winning result.”

Earlier in the morning as the voting progressed, Rohit Pawar, NCP (S-P) MLA, sounded confident of their victory on the back of Ajit Pawar’s aggressive campaigning. ”The BJP is scared because it is losing…Ajit Pawar has exposed their wrongdoings and mistakes. Voters have realised their folly…NCP will return to power.” Both the NCPs had forged an alliance for PCMC poll.

Since January 2 when he held is first press conference and made allegations of corruption till the last day of campaigning on January 13, Ajit Pawar kept on making allegations of corruption against the BJP rule in Pimpri-Chinchwad. He specifically targeted Mahesh Landge while Rohit Pawar in his couple of rallies targetted both BJP MLAs in Pimpri-Chinchwad. In his press conferences and rallies, Ajit Pawar called for ousting the BJP and bringing NCP back to power to ensure corruption-free regime in PCMC.

Meanwhile, the PCMC election office said the counting process will begin at 8 places on Friday morning at 10 am. PCMC election officer Shravan Hardikar said only those people who have been issued identity cards by the election office will be allowed inside the counting centres.

The counting centres will at Hegdewar Bhavan, Pradhikaran, Auto Cluster, Chinchwad, Sant Dnyaneshwar Krida Sankul Indrayani Nagar, ”D’ divisional office, Rahatni, Ankushrao Landge auditorium, Bhosari, Gharkul-Chikhli townhall, Kamgar Bhavan, Thergaon and Kasarwadi vegetable market.