Pune, 1st January 2026: City witnessed intense political activity on Wednesday as the scrutiny of nomination papers for the upcoming Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections led to the rejection of 174 candidates. Out of a total 3,059 nominations filed across the city, 2,703 were declared valid after detailed verification by election authorities.
The scrutiny process was conducted at 15 regional ward offices and continued late into the night in most areas due to a large number of objections raised by rival candidates. These objections ranged from unpaid property taxes and unauthorised constructions to incomplete documents, missing signatures, incorrect disclosures of assets, and overwriting in nomination forms.
Election Returning Officers heard the objections and examined documents submitted by the candidates. While some candidates managed to resolve the issues raised against them, others failed to do so, resulting in the rejection of their nomination papers.
The PMC elections will be held for 165 seats across 41 wards. Notably, nearly 2,300 nomination papers were filed on the final day itself, adding to the pressure on election officials during scrutiny.
With the scrutiny process now complete, attention has shifted to the next crucial phase, withdrawal of nominations on January 2. Major political parties including the BJP, Shiv Sena, Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena are expected to focus on damage control by persuading rebel candidates to withdraw.