Pune Civic Polls Set For January 2026 After Nine-Year Gap, Focus On ₹12,618-Crore Budget
Pune Civic Polls Set For January 2026 After Nine-Year Gap, Focus On ₹12,618-Crore Budget
Pune: After a gap of nearly nine years, elections to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) are finally set to take place in January 2026, drawing intense political focus on the control of the city’s ₹12,618-crore annual budget. The polls assume added significance as Pune has gone almost four years without elected corporators, leaving civic decision-making entirely in the hands of administrators.
The upcoming elections will also mark a first for residents of 23 villages that were merged into PMC limits in recent years. For many of them, the polls represent a long-awaited chance to elect local representatives and push for basic infrastructure such as roads, water supply, drainage and street lighting—facilities they say remain inadequate despite being part of the city.
Spread across nearly 480 square kilometres, PMC is Maharashtra’s largest municipal corporation by area. According to the civic body’s 2024 budget report, Pune’s population has grown sharply—from 35.5 lakh in 2011 to over 52 lakh—while the total electorate now stands at 35,51,469 voters.
The civic budget has expanded dramatically over the years, rising from ₹1,681 crore in 2007–08 to ₹5,912 crore in 2017–18, and now touching ₹12,618 crore for 2025–26. However, residents, particularly in newly merged areas, argue that civic services have not kept pace with this financial growth. Villages added to PMC in 2017 and 2021 continue to struggle with damaged roads, inconsistent water supply, weak drainage systems and limited public lighting.
Many citizens say the delayed elections and growing budget must now translate into visible improvements on the ground. Traffic congestion, poor footpaths, water scarcity and waste management remain key concerns across the city, while monsoon flooding and sewage overflow are recurring issues in peripheral areas.
The PMC elections were originally due in February 2022 but were postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and prolonged legal disputes over OBC reservation. Following a Supreme Court order in November 2025, the election schedule was finalised for January 2026.
Politically, PMC has witnessed major shifts over the years. The 2007 elections saw the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) emerge as the single largest party, while the 2012 polls resulted in an NCP-Congress alliance running the civic body. In 2017, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a decisive mandate, winning 97 of 162 seats.
The forthcoming elections are expected to be fiercely contested, with multiple political formations in the fray. For the first time, different factions of the NCP and Shiv Sena will contest separately, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi will seek to position itself as a key alternative. The BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP are also set to fight independently, pointing to a multi-cornered contest.
Civic activists stress that the scale of PMC’s budget gives citizens the right to demand accountability and results. With elections returning after a prolonged gap, voters across Pune—especially in newly added areas—are hoping the new civic body will finally address long-pending infrastructure and service delivery issues.
