Pune PMC Election : Political Turmoil in Pune, Big Move by Dada; 9 Prominent Leaders Join NCP in Just 12 Hours

With the backdrop of the Pune Municipal Corporation elections in 2026, the city's politics have heated up significantly, and Ajit Pawar has drawn everyone's attention by making a major political move just before the elections. Within just 12 hours, the entry of 9 prominent leaders from various parties into the Nationalist Congress Party has caused a stir in Pune's political circles. These developments have created the possibility of changing the equations in the Pune Municipal Corporation elections.

As the process of filing nominations for the corporator position began, many important leaders from BJP, Congress, MNS, and both factions of Shiv Sena bid farewell to their parties. All these leaders expressed confidence in Ajit Pawar's leadership and officially joined the Nationalist Congress Party. Political analysts say that these developments have dealt a major blow to both the Mahayuti and the Mahavikas Aghadi alliances.

This party entry includes BJP's Dhananjay Jadhav, Mukari Alagude, Shankar Pawar, and Madhukar Musale, Congress's Datta Bahirat, MNS's Jayaraj Landge, Shiv Sena Thackeray group's Neeta Manjalkar, Eknath Shinde group's Anand Manjalkar, and Sharad Pawar group's Swapnil Dudhan. With these leaders from different parties coming together on one platform, it is clear that the political equations in Pune's wards are set to change.

Due to this party entry, Ajit Pawar group's strength in Pune has significantly increased, and it appears that the NCP has started more aggressive preparations to gain dominance over the municipal corporation. Notably, since there is an alliance between Ajit Pawar group and Sharad Pawar group in Pune, these new entries are likely to directly benefit the NCP.

Due to this 'incoming' just before the elections, the political atmosphere in Pune has heated up, and it is speculated that some more prominent leaders may join the party in the coming period. As a result, the Pune Municipal Corporation election is now clearly showing signs of being decisive not only at the local level but also in state-level politics.