Manjusha Nagpure Becomes Pune Mayor; Parshuram Wadekar Elected Deputy Mayor

Pune: Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has finally got a new mayor after a four-year gap. BJP’s Manjusha Nagpure was elected unopposed as the Mayor, while the Deputy Mayor post went to Parshuram Wadekar from the Republican Party of India (Athawale). The BJP secured a smooth victory in the process.

The mayoral election in Pune saw last-minute withdrawals from NCP and Congress candidates, leaving Nagpure as the sole contender. The withdrawals came after an appeal by BJP PMC group leader Ganesh Bidkar to ensure a peaceful election and to honor the late Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and former Union Minister Suresh Kalamadi. Initially, three nominations had been filed for the Mayor post.

In the recent PMC elections, the BJP emerged as the largest party after a four-year hiatus. Athawale’s party leader, Parshuram Wadekar, was elected unopposed as the Deputy Mayor.

Earlier, Union State Minister Muralidhar Mohol had expressed confidence that the BJP would secure the mayoral post, citing the development works in Pune under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Mohol also highlighted the party’s commitment to women’s representation, stating that while 83 seats were reserved for women under 50% reservation, the BJP fielded 92 female candidates in the elections.

On seat-sharing, Mohol added that the BJP is ready to allocate 16 seats to Shiv Sena, continuing its tradition of coalition collaboration.