Supporters celebrate as jailed candidate takes decisive fourth-round lead to defeat Shinde Sena’s Pratibha Dhangekar, marking one of the most striking outcomes of PMC election 2026
Sonali Andekar contested from prison. Pic/By Special Arrangement
Sonali Andekar scripted one of the most dramatic wins of the PMC elections by clinching ward No. 23 from behind bars, defeating Pratibha Ravindra Dhangekar after a high-voltage contest that drew attention across Maharashtra. Supporters celebrated on the streets, calling it a “victory from jail”, making it one of the most striking outcomes of the civic poll verdict.
The closely watched battle, widely seen as Andekar versus Dhangekar, turned in Andekar’s favour in the fourth round of counting, where she took a decisive lead of 856 votes and went on to secure the seat.
Andekar, the daughter-in-law of late gangster Bandu Andekar, contested the election while lodged in prison after being booked in connection with an alleged conspiracy in the Ayush Komkar murder case, which made her candidature a major talking point in Pune.
Ward No. 23, comprising the densely populated areas of Sunday Peth and Nana Peth, saw a multi-cornered fight with candidates from all major parties. The BJP fielded Pallavi Javale, Anuradha Manche, Rutuja Gadale and Vishal Dhanwade. The Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) nominated Ganesh Nalawade, Vaishnavi Kirad, Pratibha Dhangekar and Pritam Avchite, while the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) put up Sanjay More and Nikita Martkar. The Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction) fielded Aniket Kothawale, Sonali Andekar, Laxmi Andekar and Khan Shahbaz Mohammed Arif. Another Andekar family member, Laxmi Andekar, also contested from the same ward on an NCP ticket. Both Sonali and Laxmi were granted conditional court permission to file nominations, though their bail pleas were rejected. The ward falls under the Kasba Assembly constituency, where Ravindra Dhangekar had earlier won a by-election with NCP support and backing from the Andekar family. The changed political alignment in the civic polls, however, led to Pratibha Dhangekar’s defeat, underlining shifting equations in Pune’s local politics and marking this as one of the most dramatic results of the PMC election.
856
Margin of votes Sonali Andekar won by
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