3 minutes of readingPuneJanuary 30, 2026 07:26 pm IST
To ensure that the BJP’s elected body of corporators in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is properly managed and can handle the opposition effectively, the party has appointed Ganesh Bidkar as group leader in the Pune civic body.
The BJP won 119 of 165 seats in the PMC elections held on January 15 and emerged as the largest party to have political control in the civic body for the next five years. The NCP won 27 seats and its NCP (SP) alliance won three seats, while the Congress won 15 seats and the Shiv Sena (UBT) won one seat.
This body of corporations is formed once the respective political party elects the members of this group and appoints its leader. They then register in the Pune Divisional Commissioner office.
“The BJP got 119 of its members elected to the PMC, who unanimously decided to form their group in the PMC and also decided that Ganesh Bidkar will be the party leader in the PMC. Therefore, the civic administration should recognize the group and its house leader,” state BJP chief Ravindra Chavan said in a written communication to the PMC and Pune Divisional Commissioner.
Based on the number of party corporators in the civic body, Bidkar will be the house leader of the general civic body. He has experience in the position as he held the position in the previous term of the elected body.
The BJP decided to appoint an experienced male corporator to the important post as the post of mayor is reserved for women corporators in the general category.
Since the NCP is the second largest party in the PMC, the NCP has already declared Nilesh Nikam as its party leader in the civic body. The NCP (SP) has declared Sopan Chavan as its house leader, while the Congress has announced Chandusheth Kadam as its leader in the civic body.
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Meanwhile, elections for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor of PMC have been postponed from February 7 to 9. Then the elections for members of various civic committees will begin.
There is competition in the BJP for the mayor’s post, with top contenders like Varsha Tapkir, Manjusha Nagpure, Mansi Deshpande and Ranjana Tilekar.