Pune: The surge in aspirants ahead of the Pimpri Chinchwad civic elections has not translated to the actual number of candidates in the fray.A total of 692 candidates are set to contest the elections this time, a significant drop from 773 in the previous elections held in 2017.
The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC)’s structure is similar to the one in 2017 — it has 128 seats across 32 wards, with four seats in each ward. The municipal corporation, which is going to polls after a gap of nearly nine years, is set to witness a high-stakes contest between the two factions of NCP and BJP, as they have fielded the maximum number of candidates.The reduction in candidates came despite more political options being available to aspirants. In 2017, candidates in the fray belonged to eight parties recognised by the State Election Commission (SEC), besides Independents. This time, the number of parties significantly increased, with the addition of outfits such as the Aam Aadmi Party and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, which have also fielded candidates. Besides, with the split in Shiv Sena and NCP, aspirants also had two more options in the form of NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) to secure tickets.Election officials received over 1,900 nomination forms from 1,135 candidates, though many were filed by dummy candidates as a backup in case the original nominations were rejected during scrutiny.During scrutiny on Thursday, election officials rejected 99 nomination forms for various reasons. In addition, AB forms submitted by five candidates — three from BJP and two from Shiv Sena — were rejected as they reached the election office beyond the deadline, forcing these aspirants to contest as Independents.On the final day of withdrawal on Friday, 443 candidates, mostly Independents, pulled out of the race. The H zonal office, which includes wards 20, 30, 31 and 32, recorded the highest number of withdrawals. These four wards received around 200 nominations, of which 83 were withdrawn, leaving 117 candidates in the fray, the highest among all zonal offices.BJP has already secured unopposed victories in two wards — 6B and 10B — after candidates from rival parties and Independents withdrew their nominations. As a result, the civic body will witness elections for only 126 seats.
