Maharshtra State Government Serious About Pune Municipal Corporation Elections 

Former corporators Ujjwal Keskar, Suhas Kulkarni, and Prashant Badhe have confirmed that the state government is committed to holding the Pune Municipal Corporation elections. There is an upcoming Supreme Court hearing on July 14, which will further clarify the election process.

The corporators emphasized that they had written to the State Election Commission after the Lok Sabha elections commenced, regarding the creation of a new ward structure. In response, the Commissioner of Pune Municipal Corporation appointed Additional Collector Mahesh Patil as the Election Officer.

The Supreme Court has not prohibited the formation of new divisions, as per its order on March 22, 2022, which mandated initiating the immediate election process based on the current ward structure. 

Following an interim change of power, the state government passed a cabinet resolution to use the adjacent census population figures, thereby increasing Pune Municipal Corporation’s population to 3.56 million.

According to the Mumbai Regional Municipal Corporation Act, there should be 161 representatives for a population of 3 million, with an additional representative for every subsequent 100,000 people. Thus, Pune will need 168 representatives.

If Pune Cantonment and Khadki Cantonment are included in the Pune Municipal Corporation, their populations will also need to be considered, potentially increasing Pune’s population to between 4.6 million and 4.7 million. This would require 178 to 180 corporators. If elections are held without a fresh census, the representation will fall short by ten members.

The final phase of the elections in Maharashtra will conclude on May 20. The State Election Commission must start preparing the ward structure with permission from the Central Election Commission. The State Election Commission’s instructions will guide this process.

On June 1, 2024, a model of the draft ward structure will be presented to Pune’s citizens. This draft will consider guidelines and the current structure of ward offices, ensuring leadership opportunities for representatives from the 23 included villages. The aim is to enable residents of these villages to influence their ward’s development direction.

In 2002, wards for villages included in the municipal corporation were separated, leading to the election of local representatives and significant development in areas like Kharadi, Baner, Balewadi, and Warje. 

The corporators are now exploring the feasibility of implementing a similar model for the 23 included villages. They plan to engage in direct and indirect communication with former representatives and citizens from these villages to gather input and ensure effective representation and development.