Pune Civic Polls Likely In Four Months: 42 Wards To Choose 166 Corporators, SC Ruling Boosts Candidates
Pune Civic Polls Likely In Four Months: 42 Wards To Choose 166 Corporators, SC Ruling Boosts Candidates
Pune, May 6: Believing that elections would not be held without a caste-based census, political workers in Pune had halted preparations for contesting the municipal polls. However, with the Supreme Court’s sudden order yesterday (May 6) to conduct elections within four months, these workers are now alert and reactivating their campaigns.
As per the state government’s previous decision, Pune will follow a four-member ward system. A total of 166 corporators will be elected from 42 wards. However, due to the city’s extended limits and the exclusion of Fursungi and Uruli Devachi villages, if the ward boundaries are restructured again, internal conflicts could arise within the ruling Mahayuti alliance over favorable ward formations. The election process will begin after the state government issues the official notification.
The term of Pune Municipal Corporation corporators ended on March 14, 2022. Since then, the corporation has been under administrative rule. The last election in 2017 also followed a four-member ward structure. When the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) came to power in 2019, they proposed three-member wards (excluding Mumbai) and an increase in corporator numbers. Accordingly, 58 wards and 173 corporators were proposed for Pune. However, a legal challenge stalled this process before it could be finalized.
After the fall of the MVA, the Mahayuti government, in February 2024, decided in a cabinet meeting to implement four-member wards, which was later approved in the legislative assembly in March. However, due to the ongoing legal battle, the ward delimitation could not proceed.
According to the revised Mumbai Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949 (amended 2016), cities with a population of 30 lakh should have 161 corporators, with one additional corporator for every 1 lakh beyond that. Based on the 2011 census, Pune’s total population (old + 11 + 23 merged villages) was about 35.5 lakh, justifying 166 corporators.
However, with Fursungi and Uruli Devachi (population: 75,465) excluded and made into separate councils, Pune’s population is now 34.75 lakh, potentially reducing the corporator count to 165.
Ward Division Possibilities:
- Option 1: 41 wards with 4 members each, and 1 ward with 2 members
- Option 2: 40 wards with 4 members each, and 2 wards with 3 members each
The final configuration will be influenced by political strategy and population adjustments.
