Pune, 11 February 2026: Adv. Nilesh Nikam of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has been appointed as the Leader of Opposition in the Pune Municipal Corporation. Mayor Manjusha Nagpure handed over the official appointment letter to him.
The appointment comes after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a clear majority in the civic elections, winning 119 seats and forming the ruling side. Manjusha Nagpure was elected Mayor, while Parshuram Wadekar of the BJP–Republican Party of India (Athawale faction) was elected Deputy Mayor unopposed.
In the same elections held under the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the NCP emerged as the second-largest party with 27 corporators. This made the party the natural claimant for the Leader of Opposition post. Pawar had earlier appointed Adv. Nikam as the NCP group leader in the civic body.
Along with Nikam’s appointment, group leader letters were also issued to leaders from the Congress, the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar faction), and the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction).
Adv. Nilesh Nikam is a five-time corporator and has previously served as Leader of the House and Chairman of the Standing Committee. Several initiatives he introduced earlier, including an urban poor welfare scheme, continue to operate.
Reacting to his appointment, Nikam said the opposition would act responsibly. “We will support constructive and city-development works in the municipal corporation. However, if public money is wasted or projects go against the interest of Punekars, we will strongly oppose them,” he said.
