Pune: Congress and BJP on Friday appointed Ramchandra (Chandusheth) Kadam and Ganesh Bidkar as the leaders of their respective parties in the Pune Municipal Corporation’s newly elected house. Since BJP is the largest party with 119 corporators, Bidkar will also serve as the leader of the house.Kadam is a three-time corporator from Kothrud and a close relative of late Congress politician Patangrao Kadam, who was a former cabinet minister.
Satej (Bunty) Patil, former minister and Congress observer for Pune, met all 15 newly elected corporators at Congress Bhavan to gauge their preference for the party leader’s position, a statement said.Ramchandra Kadam began his active political work in 2007, first serving five years as a nominated corporator, during which he built a base through his work and personal connection with the people. He contested his first PMC election in 2012 and won, while helping a fellow female Congress candidate get elected. He emerged victorius again in 2017 and repeated the feat in 2026, the Congress statement said.Bidkar, a corporator from the Kasba Peth-Somwar Peth areas, will lead the 119 BJP corporators. In the past, he served as the chairperson of the standing committee, the city improvement committee and other panels. He was defeated in the 2017 poll, but the party appointed him as a co-opted member and the leader of the house. Sopan (Kaka) Chavan has been appointed as the party leader of NCP (SP), which has three corporators.
