The bypoll is likely to be held in April but the state election commission is yet to declare the actual dates of voting. (File)
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) bypolls are being seen as a rehearsal for the 2022 civic polls with all political parties in the civic body gearing up for the same.
The civic administration has started the process for bypolls of two seats that fell vacant due to the death of sitting BJP corporators Mahesh Ladkat and Vijay Shewale. Ladkat represented electoral panel 8C in Navipeth-Parvati while Shewale represented electoral panel 29B in Aundh-Bopodi.
The updated electoral roll till January 15 of respective assembly constituencies in which the electoral panel comes in should be referred to finalise the electoral roll of the two electoral panels that would be going for the bypoll.
As part of the preparations, the civic administration would be publishing the draft electoral roll of the electoral panel on February 16 and seek objections till February 23. The final electoral roll would be published on March 3 while the polling booths would be declared on March 8. The civic administration would publish the list of electoral rolls with respective polling booths on March 12.
The bypoll is likely to be held in April but the state election commission is yet to declare the date of voting.
“The state election commission has asked to take the programme of publishing draft electoral rolls 2021 for the bypolls,” said Vanashree Labhshetwar, incharge of the election department of PMC.
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In 2017 civic polls, the BJP had won 97, including two RPI(A) candidates on its symbol, of the total 162 seats while taking away power from NCP which had won 39 seats. The Shiv Sena got 10 seats, Congress won 9 seats, MNS managed to win two seats, AIMIM one seat and four independents were elected to the civic body.
The demise of Deputy Mayor Navnath Kamble of RPI (A) in May 2017 had necessitated the by-elections in the Koregaon Park-Ghorpadi ward. The party retained the seat with Himali Kamble elected on the seat represented by her husband. In another bypoll held in April 2018 following the death of former mayor Chanchala Kodre of NCP, who was elected in 2017 from the Mundhwa-Magarpatta ward. The NCP retained the seat and Puja Kodre was elected as the new councillor.
Later, the merger of 11 villages in PMC had led to a bypoll for two seats to represent the newly elected area. The ruling BJP and opposition NCP won one seat each to increase their overall tally by 1 each.