PIMPRI: As many as 121 candidates are in the fray for 24 seats as co-opted members of the Ward Committee of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. Since the ruling BJP is dominating in all eight wards of the city, a maximum number of BJP candidates will be elected to the Ward Committee.
The BJP has decided to appoint Ward Committee members for two years, so that maximum number of party workers will get an opportunity to serve as a member.
Some of the former BJP corporators have also filed nomination to get selected as co-opted members on Ward Committees.
Activists associated with NGOs are supposed to be selected as members of Ward Committee. However, for political convenience, politicians often give preference to party workers while showing them as workers of NGO on paper.
The municipal corporation has announced the election process for co-opted members in which a total of 121 applications were received. These include ‘A’ ward 19, ‘B’ ward 27, ‘C ‘ward 15, ‘D’ ward 10, ‘E’ ward 7, ‘F’ ward 16, ‘G’ward 15 and ‘H’ ward 12. The list of the valid-invalid application was published on April 13 along with the reasons of invalidity.
The people who had withdrawn their candidature during civic polls following the assurance from the leaders are now lobbying with city President and MLA Laxman Jagtap, Associate MLA Mahesh Lande, Leader of House Eknath Pawar and former city unit chief of BJP Sadashiv Khade.
