Maharashtra civic poll results: Ajit Pawar tightens grip on Pune district, Baramati; NCP grabs 10 of 17 president posts

PUNE: Deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Sunday proved his dominance over Baramati, the Pawar family's traditional stronghold, as well as Pune district as the municipal council elections delivered a clear win for his faction of NCP in the first civic contest since the party's split.

NCP won 35 of the 41 seats in Baramati, the same as undivided NCP in the 2017 civic polls. NCP (SP), led by Sharad Pawar, managed to win only one seat, while Bahujan Samaj Party and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha won a seat each. Three seats went to independent candidates, while BJP failed to open its account.

NCP secured the presidents' posts in 10 of the 17 local bodies in Pune district, followed by Shiv Sena with four and BJP with three. All three Mahayuti partners swept the polls in the district. Of the 398 councillor posts it contested, NCP topped with 152 seats, followed by BJP (88) and Sena (55). MVA was restricted to 13 seats, with NCP (SP) winning six, Congress four and Sena (UBT) three.

The Baramati municipal council of 41 seats witnessed elections for only 33 wards, as eight candidates from NCP were elected unopposed. Ajit Pawar's faction also secured the mayor's post, defeating candidates from both NCP (SP) and BJP.

"The victory in Pune district is the result of the hard work put in by party workers. These elections were held after nearly nine years, and the local bodies were without elected representatives for almost four years. The results show that not only NCP but also Shiv Sena and BJP won in many seats, which indicates that the people trust Mahayuti," Ajit Pawar said.

This was the first civic election in Baramati in which members of the Pawar family were pitted against each other. The two sides had also faced each other in the LS polls, where NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule emerged victorious, as well as the assembly elections last year, which was won by Ajit Pawar.

Although the Baramati polls were seen as a faceoff between Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar, local leaders said the real fight was between Ajit Pawar and his nephew Yugendra Pawar, who led the campaign for NCP (SP). "Neither Sharad Pawar nor Supriya Sule campaigned in Baramati. Yugendra Pawar was the only leader holding meetings and campaigning on the ground, while Ajit Pawar himself addressed rallies and remained actively involved throughout the campaign," a senior NCP functionary said.

The contest in most civic bodies in Pune was restricted to Mahayuti partners, with candidates from NCP, BJP and Sena pitted against each other. In some places, the allies also faced each other through local tie-ups. Talegaon Dabhade was the only local body where NCP and BJP contested together, with an agreement to share the mayoral post for 2.5 years each.



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