In a sharp pre-election offensive, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has launched a direct attack on its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), over the deteriorating civic infrastructure in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. The criticism comes just days before the crucial January 15 elections for the two municipal corporations.
The Five-Point Alarm: Highlighting Civic Failures
As part of its campaign, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has spotlighted five critical issues plaguing the twin cities. The party accuses the previous administrations of neglecting pathetic roads and chronic traffic congestion, severe water shortages, inefficient healthcare systems, poor garbage management, and a marked deterioration of the environment. Pawar formally rolled out the campaign, titled ‘Ek Alarm, Paach Kaam' (One Alarm, Five Works), by releasing a campaign song on Wednesday.
"This campaign is limited to PMC and PCMC. We are trying to attract the attention of the administration towards the burning issues which both the civic bodies have been facing for the last seven to eight years," stated Ajit Pawar. He emphasized that these problems have persisted under the watch of the administrators who have been running the corporations since 2022, following the end of the BJP's governing term from 2017 to 2022.
Alliance Tensions Surface in Campaign Trail
The political rhetoric has exposed significant fissures within the ruling Mahayuti alliance at the state and central levels. Despite being partners with the BJP in Maharashtra and at the Centre, the NCP has not held back its criticism during the campaign for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) elections. Senior BJP leaders had reportedly warned Pawar against attacking the party, but the Deputy Chief Minister, who also serves as Pune's guardian minister, continued his assault.
"My objection is to the poor performance of the local leadership which was governing these civic bodies," Pawar clarified, drawing a distinction between local and higher-level governance. He asserted, "The Centre and the State govt were sending enough funds, but the people responsible for the governance failed miserably in utilising them."
A Promise of Solutions and a Legacy Claim
Pawar leveraged his own long tenure in Pimpri Chinchwad to contrast with the current state of affairs. "By governing PCMC for 25 years, I set an example about how to run a civic body," he claimed. He argued that the functioning of both corporations has been deeply disappointing since 2017, leading to public suffering due to alleged corruption within these civic bodies.
The NCP chief concluded by stating that while he has listed the pressing civic problems, his party will provide concrete solutions. He announced that the NCP's manifesto for the elections will be released on January 10, detailing their proposed remedies for Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad's infrastructure crisis. Earlier on Wednesday, Pawar had held a roadshow covering several wards to drum up support for his party's candidates in the PMC polls.
