Women dominate Pune civic polls

Eighty-three women win Pune Municipal Corporation seats as seven defeat male rivals in open contests

- Indu Bhagat

Women will play a decisive role in Pune’s civic governance over the next five years, with 83 women elected to the 165-seat Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).

Of these, seven women candidates contested from seats that were not reserved for women and emerged victorious against male opponents. The outcome is seen as a significant landmark as it demonstrates voter confidence in women candidates even in open competition and challenges the perception that women succeed only due to reservations. The election results show that 76 seats were won through women-reserved categories, seven seats were won by women candidates who competed with men, and one seat was won by a woman candidate unopposed.

The civic election took place on Jan 15 to elect 165 corporators across 41 wards, with 83 seats designated for women and 82 for men. Within the women's quota, 48 seats were classified as open, 23 for Other Backward Classes (OBC), 11 for Scheduled Castes (SC) and one for Scheduled Tribes (ST). For men, there were 48 open seats, 22 for OBC, 11 for SC and one for ST. After the results were declared, women won all 83 seats reserved for them across the 41 wards.