Overview
- BJP corporator Shrinath Bhimale was elected unopposed as chair of the Pune Municipal Corporation’s standing committee after the Returning Officer rejected NCP’s Suhas Tingre for filing past the deadline, triggering an NCP walkout.
- With the BJP holding a majority in the 16-member panel and 119 of 165 PMC seats, the party now controls the key body that vets the civic budget and approves major projects.
- NCP state president Sunil Tatkare said the party has decided that Parth Pawar will be nominated for the Rajya Sabha while Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar will contest the Baramati Assembly bypoll.
- A formal notification set Rajya Sabha polling for March 16 with nominations due by March 5, shaping contests in which the ruling Mahayuti’s numbers position it to win six of seven Maharashtra seats.
- Separately, the Maharashtra BJP named a new slate of state office-bearers, a move the party framed as strengthening its organisation for future elections.