Fadnavis rules out joint contest

CIVIC RIFT | Maharashtra CM says he and Ajit Pawar will face off in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, to avoid aiding third party

- Varad Bhatkhande

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said he and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar cannot contest the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation Elections together, asserting that doing so would benefit a third party.

He said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) would therefore engage in a "friendly contest" in both civic bodies.

Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and PimpriChinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) will go to polls on Jan 15, and the counting is scheduled on Jan 16.

Speaking briefly to reporters during his Pune tour, Fadnavis said, "Ajit Pawar and I cannot contest the elections together in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Both of us understand politics well enough to know that if we contest together, it benefits a third party, and we do not want to allow that to happen. We will contest against each other, but it will be a friendly fight."