Sources from parties said that more inductions are expected in the next couple of days, too, and will likely continue till polling day. A senior NCP functionary, choosing anonymity, said, “Jumping of leaders from one party to another continued even after the process of filing nominations ended last week. This was mainly because almost all parties are contesting solo. A significant number of workers from BJP and other parties joined NCP recently in the presence of Ajit Pawar. Talks are on with some former corporators who may join NCP in the next couple of days.” The PMC polls are witnessing a multi-corner fight this time, with Mahayuti alliance partners BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP fighting solo. Their candidates are contesting against each other in a significant number of wards. In the MVA camp, Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) have formed an alliance, but their candidates are overlapping in some wards. The two NCP factions also ditched their respective alliances (Mahayuti and MVA) and joined hands for PMC polls. A BJP functionary said that more than six former corporators joined BJP in the last week. An NCP youth leader from Kothrud, Pramod Shinde, joined BJP days ago. NCP office-bearers, including Amar Kore and Vanita Jagtap, also joined BJP in the presence of state minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule. The party witnessed the entry of workers from other parties from areas like Sus-Pashan, Kothrud and the city’s central areas. Most politicians joined the party with an eye on development projects being executed in the city. Among former corporators who jumped ship during the ongoing polls are also Sanjay Bhosale and Prithviraj Sutar of Shiv Sena (UBT); both joined BJP and secured tickets. Congress functionary Datta Bahirat joined NCP. Former corporators Sayli Wanjale and Sachin Dodke jumped to BJP, while Sandip Jarhad joined NCP.
