Pune/Abhijeet Grandson. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has put an end to the long-running speculations regarding Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections. He has made it clear that Bharatiya Janata Party and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction) will not form an alliance in these two municipal corporations, but will contest the elections separately. The Chief Minister said that if all the parties contest the elections together, it may benefit the opponents, hence there will be a ‘friendly competition’.
On Monday, the State Election Commission held a press conference at 4 pm and announced the election schedule of 29 municipalities and municipal corporations of the state. Under this, voting will be held on 15 January 2026. Municipal elections are going to be held after many years, due to which the political turmoil has intensified. In these, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections have become a question of prestige for both BJP and Nationalist Congress.
While talking to journalists in Pune, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that Ajit Pawar had suffered a big setback in the 2017 municipal elections in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Now he faces a big challenge of making a political comeback in 2026. On the other hand, BJP is claiming to win public trust on the basis of its development works and achievements of governance.
Fadnavis said, “I am happy that after a long time, elections for all municipal corporations are being held in Maharashtra. Our government has done many development works in the past years and I am confident that its effect will be visible in the election results.” He also made it clear that in some parts of the state there will be a BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, somewhere else a BJP-Shiv Sena-Nationalist alliance will be formed, but in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad the BJP and Ajit Pawar factions will be face to face.
The Chief Minister further said that Shiv Sena is with BJP at most places, but Nationalist Congress is also in a strong position in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. In such a situation, if all the parties enter the field together, then the opposition can get advantage. For this reason, it has been decided to contest elections separately, which he described as a ‘friendly contest’.
On the question of new leaders joining BJP, Fadnavis said that the number of people joining the party is increasing, but the party president will decide who to include in the party and who not. Regarding the Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections, he expressed confidence that whether the Thackeray brothers come together or not, the people of Mumbai will stand with the BJP. He claimed that this time BJP’s victory over Mumbai Municipal Corporation is certain.
Overall, with the announcement of municipal elections in Maharashtra, political activity has intensified. Especially in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, the direct contest between BJP and Nationalist Congress can play an important role in deciding the direction of the politics of the state.
