The BJP is set to retain its political hold on both the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) for a second consecutive tenure despite facing stiff competition from its state and national ally in the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).The BJP has leads in 110 of the 165 seats in the PMC and in 81 of the 128 seats in the PCMC.AdvertisementWith the NCP reuniting with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP(SP) for these polls, the loss not only dents the Pawars’ influence but also raises questions on their political future as the BJP continues to expand its presence in Maharashtra.Impact of Lok Sabha, Assembly pollsThough the Mahayuti had suffered a blow in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP was the best performer among its allies and had recorded a third consecutive win in the Pune Parliamentary constituency.But its recovery in the ensuing Assembly elections was remarkable, with the BJP winning all the seats it contested as part of the Mahayuti in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. The party won all six seats of the eight seats it contested in Pune and both seats in Pimpri-Chinchwad.AdvertisementThe results of these municipal corporation elections have consolidated the BJP’s hold in this region, particularly as they came in the face of the strong opposition from the Pawars.Capitalising on previous tenuresThough the BJP had been part of alliances that held majorities in the previous terms of the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations from 2017 to 2022, this election marks the first time the party has come to power on its own.The BJP has strengthened its base since the previous term, with its focus on initiating major infrastructure projects in the twin cities, with the help of the state and Central governments, proving fruitful in the municipal corporation polls.Inducting strong contenders from rival partiesThe BJP continued its strategy of inducting strong candidates from rival political parties in these elections, including prospective candidates of the NCP, NCP(SP), Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress.Notable among them were NCP(SP) MLA Bapu Pathare’s son Surendra and daughter-in-law Aishwarya. Pathare is influential in his Vadgaon Sheri Assembly constituency in the Pune district and has previously held posts in urban local bodies.The BJP also inducted Abhijeet Shivarkar, son of former Congress state minister Balasaheb Shivarkar, besides several former corporators like the NCP(SP)’s Sachin Dodke, and the NCP’s Sayali Wanjale and Bala Dhankawade ahead of the civic polls.Opportunities for fresh facesAmong the BJP’s 97 corporators who had won in the 2017 polls in the PMC, the party dropped 30 leaders in favour of new faces, including grassroots party workers. Despite protests over candidate selection, the BJP remained firm and cited “winnability” as the main criteria for its candidate choices.Relatives of sitting legislators denied ticketsAs a party policy in these elections, the BJP decided that no relatives of sitting MLAs or MPs would be given tickets to contest in the municipal corporations. Among those denied tickets were relatives of Union Minister of State Murlidhar Mohol, state minister Madhuri Misal, Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni, and MLAs Bhimrao Tapkir and Sunil Kamble despite their considerable political influence.Rebellions checkedIn the PMC, the BJP had to choose candidates from more than 2,500 aspirants for 165, leading to considerable unhappiness over the eventual denials of tickets.To quell potential rebellions, the party ensured that it reached out to disappointed party workers personally and brought them on board to actively campaign for the official candidate. It pacified some unhappy aspirants by reiterating its policy to avoid fielding relatives of sitting legislators and instead favour new faces, a strategy that seems to have appealed to party workers and yielded results among voters.Targeting NCP’s ‘criminal’ candidatesThough it faced a stiff challenge from the Pawars-led NCP-NCP(SP) alliance, the BJP did not shy away from directly attacking Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar despite being an ally at the state level. In particular, the BJP criticised the NCP-NCP(SP) alliance for fielding candidates with criminal backgrounds.But the BJP also benefited from a division of votes between the Congress and NCP(SP), who are state-level allies in the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA).Future of NCP-NCP(SP)With the two factions of the NCP coming together for the first time since Ajit Pawar split the party to join the Mahayuti in 2023 in a bid to defeat the BJP and regain their lost strongholds in the PMC and PCMC, the results come as a massive blow for the NCP and NCP(SP).While several party leaders and workers had hoped that the alliance for the municipal corporations polls would lead to a broader merger, leaders like NCP(SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, who is party chief Sharad Pawar’s nephew, dismissed such notions.To make matters worse, the alliance for the local body elections had led to some disgruntled leaders quitting the NCP(SP). Former party Pune chief and ex-mayor Prashant Jagtap had joined the Congress ahead of the polls, and went on to win from the Wanowrie-Salunkhe Vihar seat.most readAfter the highs of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which saw the NCP(SP) win eight of the 10 seats it contested as part of the MVA, the party has been in a downward spiral ever since, faltering in the ensuing Assembly elections and now in the municipal corporation polls. The results raise further questions over the party’s political relevance and survival.For the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, its failure in the PMC and PCMC polls also raise questions of its own survival in the face of an expanding BJP, though they remain allies at the state and national level.However, if the BJP’s continued domination will push the two NCP factions closer to each other remains to be seen.(With inputs from Soham Shah)