NCP chief Sharad Pawar. (File) Ahead of the civic elections slated for February 2022, Sharad Pawar and his family seem to be going all out to recapture the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), from which the NCP was ousted in 2017. The BJP had then dethroned the NCP with a brute majority that saw the saffron party ruling the PCMC for the first time in its history.
In a bid to motivate the NCP rank and file and give momentum to its mission to regain PCMC, NCP chief Sharad Pawar himself rushed forth. Last week, despite his ailing health, he camped for two days in Pimpri-Chinchwad, interacting with party corporators, former corporators, leaders and ordinary workers. He fired a salvo at the ruling BJP, accusing two of its MLAs “of distributing Pimpri-Chinchwad among themselves and looting the civic body.”
“During our meeting with our party chief, I complained to him about the deficiencies in the party and how the party needs to take everyone together if we have to win back the PCMC,” former NCP corporator Kiran Mote said.
Mote caused quite a stir when he spoke in front of Sharad Pawar and pointed out the reasons for the defeat of Parth Pawar from Maval Lok Sabha seat in 2019. “I pointed out how ‘politics of relatives’ played out by some NCP politicians led to the defeat of Parth Pawar,” said Mote, adding that “Pawarsaheb listened to our grievances patiently.”
After taking the feedback from party workers, Sharad Pawar narrated how the NCP had worked hard for the development of Pimpri-Chinchwad during its regime. “He urged party workers and leaders to put in their might to dislodge the BJP from the PCMC and recapture power. Our party chief was vocal about the corruption in the PCMC. Our local unit has been raising the issue of corruption during the BJP regime for the last four-and-a-half years,” NCP Pimpri-Chinchwad unit head Sanjog Waghere told indianexpress.com.
Besides Sharad Pawar, his grandson, Parth Pawar, has also been monitoring the developments in Pimpri-Chinchwad and regularly visiting the industrial city. Last week, he tweeted that the NCP needed to get rid of the corrupt party in Pimpri-Chinchwad. “He had also met the Municipal Commissioner Rajesh Patil on a couple of occasions and told him to take up the development works suggested by NCP corporators,” corporator Shyam Lande said.
Parth’s Pawar meeting with the commissioner had come in the backdrop of the complaints made by NCP corporators that the civic chief was not according priority to the development works suggested by them. The civic administration on its part said Parth had urged the corporation to take up the development works suggested by NCP corporators. “The administration was already doing that,” civic officials said.
When asked whether he would lead NCP’s poll campaign in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Parth refused to comment. He, however, said that he had passed on the complaints he received from citizens regarding the style of functioning of the municipal commissioner to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. “I have received some complaints regarding the municipal commissioner. I have already informed the deputy chief minister about them,” he said.
Ajit Pawar has appointed two of his assistants in Pimpri-Chinchwad. “Both of them come once a week. They take complaints and feedback from corporators, former corporators and citizens and pass them on to Ajitdada,” said former mayor of Pimpri-Chinchwad and NCP leader Yogesh Behl.
Behl, who is considered as the right-hand man of Ajit Pawar, said, “It is true that our party chief Sharad Pawar, Ajitdada and Parth are putting in their best efforts to motivate, encourage and infuse life into the party set up in our bid to regain power in Pimpri-Chinchwad. The party has got a head start with the recent visit of Sharad Pawar. It generated a lot of interest in the city and the party rank and file looked quite enthused.”
Behl said, “Ajitdada is regularly in touch with me and taking feedback from us. I have also told him about the style of functioning of the municipal commissioner.”
Behl said Parth Pawar has been taking active interest in Pimpri-Chinchwad. “He has been regularly in touch with the party leaders. Besides, he has been visiting the city regularly,” he said. NCP leaders said Rohit Pawar, a grandnephew of Sharad Pawar, is also monitoring the happenings in Pimpri-Chinchwad.
Besides the three key members of the Pawar family, Shrirur MP Amol Kolhe has also zeroed in on Pimpri-Chinchwad. He recently witnessed the civic general body meeting from the visitor’s gallery. He sat there for nearly five hours, which was a rare sight especially since MLAs and MPs generally shy away from witnessing PCMC meetings. “Kolhe was especially deputed by our party leadership to keep a close watch on the PCMC functioning, so as to expose BJP’s rule during the campaign period,” an NCP leader said.
Kolhe said the allegations of corruption in smart city works in the PCMC seem to hold ground as they had come from none other than BJP corporators themselves.
State BJP chief Chandrakant Patil visited Pimpri-Chinchwad on Saturday. The BJP leader said, “The fact that NCP chief Sharad Pawar is taking active interest in Pimpri-Chinchwad, goes to show the strength of the BJP. Besides Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar, even MP Amol Kolhe and Rohit Pawar are focussing hard on Pimpri-Chinchwad… but let me tell you that despite all these leaders and efforts, they will find it difficult to defeat the BJP in Pimpri-Chinchwad.”
Patil added, “In Pimpri-Chinchwad, the BJP is strong. If a couple of corporators are leaving the party, let them leave, they will repent later. Two of our party MLAs are doing a good job in Pimpri-Chinchwad.”
The NCP had ruled the PCMC for 15 years after the party’s formation in 1999. The party is credited with changing the face of the industrial city with a slew of development projects. NCP’s defeat in 2017 was taken to heart by Ajit Pawar. He has repeatedly said at public functions that it was difficult for him to digest the defeat in Pimpri-Chinchwad despite ensuring all-round development of the industrial city. Since the loss in 2017, Ajit Pawar has been keeping a close watch on Pimpri-Chinchwad, NCP leaders said.
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