Dheeraj Ghate, Ganesh Bidkar, Shrinath Bhimale, Or A New Face?

The curiosity over who will be selected as the BJP’s Pune city president continues to grow, with many eagerly awaiting the final decision after the voting on Sunday.

Sealed envelopes containing the opinions of local leaders were given to the inspectors on Sunday. Among those understood to have been given preference for the post of president are Former Leader of House, PMC Ganesh Bidkar, Shrinath Bhimale, and the current president Dheeraj Ghate.

As part of the organizational changes ahead of local elections, the BJP has initiated the process of nominating the city chief. For this, inspectors have been appointed to oversee the process.

Shekhar Inamdar was nominated as the inspector for the election of the Pune City President. Inamdar conducted the vote among the office bearers on Sunday.

A total of 40 to 50 office bearers, including state-level officials, city president, city workers, city president of Mahila Morcha, Yuva Morcha or other fronts, sitting MLA, MP, former MLA, and former MP, have suggested three names for the post of new city president.

They were tasked with suggesting three names in order of preference for the post of city president, with the office bearers putting forward their preferred candidates.

In the meantime, current president Dheeraj Ghate had requested an extension of his term until the municipal elections. Other aspirants for the role included former corporator Rajendra Shilimkar, and Ganesh Ghosh. According to some officials, most of the office bearers preferred the names of Ghate, Bidkar, and Bhimale when presented to the inspectors. Following the gathering of opinions, a confidential report will be submitted to the Inspector of State. The final decision regarding the city president will be made over the coming months.

Additionally, the BJP suggested three names to the inspector for the post of city president, with one of those names being required to be a woman. Among the women, former corporator Varsha Tapkir, Aarti Kondhare, and Varsha Dahle were said to be the favored candidates.