Pune: NCP leaders want two-member ward in civic polls scheduled in 2022

Pune: NCP leaders want two-member ward in civic polls scheduled in 2022

Pune: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) city unit leaders have demanded that there should be a two-member ward in the upcoming elections for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). NCP leaders believe that the present four-member panel system of wards is benefiting the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and should be scrapped by the state government of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, of which NCP is the driving force.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister and Guardian Minister of Pune District Ajit Pawar has asked his party workers and leaders to be prepared for the civic polls which are scheduled in 2022. Pawar had also asked his party leaders for suggestions for an alliance and strategy to win the civic body polls.

Pawar was in the city recently for a review meeting of Covid-19 outbreak situation in Pune city. After this meeting, he held another meeting with the NCP city unit and discussed the election strategy and possibilities of an alliance with the Congress and Shiv Sena, similar to what the party has done at state level to keep the BJP away from power in the civic body.

Rajya Sabha MP Vandana Chavan, NCP city unit president and MLA Chetan Tupe, Sunil Tingre, former mayors Dattatray Dhankawade, Prashant Jagtap, Vaishali Bankar and other office-bearers also attended the meeting.

The BJP is in power at PMC with 97 corporators. The NCP is the second largest party with 39 corporators followed by Shiv Sena with 10, Congress 9, MNS 2, AIMIM 1 and four independent corporators.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi state government has already decided to bring the one or two member ward system in civic polls across the state. All the three parties, NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena believe that the smaller ward arrangement is beneficial for them to win more seats. Smaller size of wards forces the voters to focus on the candidates rather than party and voters tend to vote for a party as there are more ‘unknown’ or ‘lesser known’ candidates in the fray in the larger size of wards (prabhags).

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