Suhas Tingre, a prominent leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Ajit Pawar faction, staged a walkout on the first day of the Maharashtra Assembly session on Monday, February 23, in protest after his nomination for a key leadership role was disqualified.
Tingre’s nomination for the chairmanship of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Standing Committee was rejected by election officials on the grounds that his application was submitted one minute after the official deadline. The decision has cleared the path for the BJP to secure the post without a contest.
Meanwhile, after the PMC elections 2026, the election for the post of Standing Committee Chairman was held today, February 23. Since the BJP has a large majority in the PMC, it was certain that the chairman would be from the BJP. Srinath Bhimale had filed his application for the post from the BJP, and the NCP had also fielded a candidate against him.
However, it was revealed that the NCP did not adhere to the election timings, and this appears to have affected the party in the Standing Committee election.
Today, the election for the post of Standing Committee Chairman was held in the presence of Municipal Additional Commissioner Omprakash Divate, Municipal Secretary Yogita Bhosale and other Standing Committee members. In this election, Suhas Tingre’s application was filed from the Nationalist Congress Party. However, it has come to light that Tingre filed his application a minute late.
Therefore, after the election process began, Returning Officer and SRA Chief Executive Officer Satish Khadke stated that Tingre’s application was invalid as it was submitted after the prescribed deadline. Since Bhimale’s application was the only one remaining, he was declared elected unopposed. Due to this, there is talk in municipal circles that the NCP suffered a setback because it failed to meet the deadline.
Before the election for the post of Standing Committee Chairman, the NCP had also fielded candidates for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor. However, these candidates later withdrew, and the BJP candidates were elected unopposed. This has led to speculation in municipal circles that the one-minute delay in filing the application may have been deliberate to avoid the embarrassment of another withdrawal. As a result, questions are being raised about whether this delay was the result of collusion between the BJP and the NCP.