BJP, Congress begin process to appoint new city unit presidents 

Both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have begun the process of appointing new city unit presidents for Pune. With municipal elections approaching, these appointments will be crucial, as city unit chiefs play a key role in mobilising the party cadre and selecting candidates. 

The BJP has announced its schedule for the state-wide appointment of city and district unit presidents, naming Kolhapur leader Dhananjay Mahadik as observer for Pune. Although BJP’s sitting city president Dheeraj Ghate has completed just two years of his tenure, the party is considering replacing him. Recently, Ghate voiced his disagreement with Pune MP Medha Kulkarni over her stance against Mahila Morcha’s agitation in the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital case. 

However, party leaders clarified that the current process of appointing a new city unit president is part of a state-wide exercise and is unrelated to the Deenanath Mangeshkar controversy. Traditionally, BJP city unit heads who have led the party to electoral successes have gone on to become MLAs or ministers, making this post especially significant ahead of municipal polls. 

State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule announced the schedule for electing city and district unit chiefs across Maharashtra. 

Similarly, the Congress too is preparing to appoint a new Pune city unit president, though no official announcement has been made yet. The current city president, Arvind Shinde, has completed his three-year tenure. During this period, the Congress faced defeats in both the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections, and internal factionalism persisted within the city unit. 

Recently, Rahul Gandhi stated that the party plans to empower city and district unit chiefs, giving them more authority at the local level. He also stressed that future appointments would be based solely on performance.