Maharashtra local body election: NCP launches ‘Alarm’ campaign, targets BJP ahead of Pune polls

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. File Pic

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), whose poll symbol is a clock, on Wednesday launched a new campaign titled "Alarm" ahead of the January 15 Maharashtra local body elections in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic bodies.

Through the campaign, the party targeted the local leadership of its ally, the BJP, accusing it of failing to provide basic civic services in both cities.

Announcing the initiative, NCP president and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said worsening civic issues, including water shortages, garbage accumulation, traffic congestion, and rising pollution levels, were "alarm bells" pointing to administrative failure at the municipal level, news agency PTI reported.

According to PTI, the NCP maintained that the two key civic bodies required the "Ajit Pawar model" of discipline and delivery. At the outset, Pawar clarified that the campaign was limited to the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations and was not linked to the functioning of the central or state governments.

The NCP is in an alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra and at the Centre; however, both parties are contesting Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic body polls separately.

"I would like to clarify at the beginning that the 'Alarm' campaign only concerns the failures of municipal bodies in Pune and PCMC (where the BJP was in power from 2017 to 2022)," he said, reported PTI.

Pawar claimed the campaign was based on ground surveys conducted over the last six months and complaints received directly through "Jansamvad" (interactions with citizens).

"Dry taps, tanker queues, pothole-ridden roads, garbage mounds, and worsening air quality show an execution crisis in the civic bodies. The alarm is ringing, and the cities need to wake up," asserted the NCP leader, whose home turf is Pune district.

Without naming the BJP, Pawar blamed the ruling party's local leadership for the deterioration of civic infrastructure in PMC and PCMC, despite governing them for several years. He alleged that development had stalled in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad due to poor planning and lack of accountability.

The 'Alarm' campaign will be a digital-first and ground-based initiative, featuring short videos of NCP candidates highlighting civic problems at actual locations such as potholes, garbage dumps, and traffic bottlenecks.

The campaign revolves around the theme 'One Alarm, Five Works', focusing on 24x7 clean water supply, pothole-free roads, smoother traffic, timely garbage collection and sanitation, creation of public spaces with pollution control, and accessible healthcare facilities in every ward.

Pawar said the NCP's governance model, rooted in the Shiv-Shahu-Phule-Ambedkar ideology, prioritises execution over rhetoric.

"When the undivided NCP helmed the two civic bodies, development was planned and delivered. Efficient governance is the highest form of public service," noted the Deputy Chief Minister, who holds finance and planning portfolios in the BJP-led Mahayuti government in the state, reported PTI.

The NCP sought to draw a distinction between its role in the state government and the functioning of the two key civic bodies, asserting that PMC and PCMC required what it described as the "Ajit Pawar model" of discipline and delivery.

Pawar, while addressing a press conference in Pimpri-Chinchwad last week, alleged corruption in PCMC and targeted the local BJP leadership for graft, claiming the once-rich civic body has been pushed into debt over the last nine years. Later, speaking in Pune, Pawar accused the BJP's local leadership of derailing the city's development. Despite receiving substantial funds from the Centre and the state government, he claimed the local BJP leadership could not carry out meaningful development in Pune city while ruling its civic body.

(With PTI inputs)