Delays declaration of list of candidates; to start campaign from today.
Fearing large-scale rebellion by its cadets, the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is delaying the declaration of the list of its official candidates for the upcoming Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) election.
However, the NCP, in a surprise move, declared the first list of 45 candidates for the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) late on Thursday. The list was made public by NCP leader and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. The party on Friday also declared the official list of candidates for zilla parishad election, barring Daund, Ambegaon and Khed talukas.
Although top echelons of the party have maintained a sphinx-like silence, senior party leaders said that the official list of candidates for the PMC is likely to be declared on January 29, a day before the last date for filing nominations.
In absence of any official list, many NCP hopefuls have started filing their nominations.
Due to 50% reservation for women, many corporators have fielded their wives or other female relatives, which has put the party in a fix.
Party insiders told DNA that many senior corporators were locked in a bitter power struggle to protect their political fiefdoms.
With the party deciding to go it alone in the civic polls, rebellion by its cadres can have an adverse impact on the party’s fortune in the PMC polls. With Ajit Pawar personally overseeing the selection of candidates for both the PMC and the PCMC, poor show by the party would be a setback for him.
The release of tainted city MP Suresh Kalmadi ahead of the civic polls has also added to Pawar’s woes, as Kalmadi would ensure the defeat of Pawar’s candidates to settle political scores.
Meanwhile, without its list of candidates, the party has decided to start its official campaign for the civic polls from Saturday.
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