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By:

Rajendra Pandharpure

15 April 2025 at 2:25:54 pm

Pune’s changing political guard

After an eight-year hiatus, the municipal elections promise to usher in a new cohort of politicians and reset the city’s political rhythms Pune:  The long-delayed civic polls herald a generational shift in Pune, arguably Maharashtra’s most politically vibrant city. When voters return to the booths in December, they will be resetting the circuitry of local power. The last municipal elections were held in 2017. Since then, the city’s politics have drifted into a liminal space. The Pune...

Pune’s changing political guard

After an eight-year hiatus, the municipal elections promise to usher in a new cohort of politicians and reset the city’s political rhythms Pune:  The long-delayed civic polls herald a generational shift in Pune, arguably Maharashtra’s most politically vibrant city. When voters return to the booths in December, they will be resetting the circuitry of local power. The last municipal elections were held in 2017. Since then, the city’s politics have drifted into a liminal space. The Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) term expired in May 2022, but the state dithered, leaving India’s seventh-largest city without elected urban governance for almost three years. With the prospect of polls repeatedly deferred, many former corporators had since quietly receded from the daily grind of politics, returning to business interests or simply losing relevance. When the long-pending reservation lottery for civic wards was finally conducted recently, it delivered another shock: dozens of established male aspirants discovered that their seats had vanished from under them. New guard All this has created an unusual political vacuum that younger leaders are eager to fill. Parties across the spectrum, from the BJP to the Congress to the NCP factions, are preparing to field fresher faces. Regardless of who wins, Pune seems destined to witness the rise of a new political class. The churn is already visible. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, both the BJP’s Murlidhar Mohol and the Congress’s then-candidate Ravindra Dhangekar were relative newcomers to national politics. The city’s Assembly seats have also produced new faces in recent years, including Hemant Rasne and Sunil Kamble. Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party elevated Subhash Jagtap and Sunil Tingre to leadership roles, giving them a platform to shape the party’s urban strategy. Even the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a peripheral entity in Pune’s political landscape, is preparing to contest the civic polls with a wholly new leadership slate. The party most uneasy about this transition may be the Congress. Despite routinely polling between 550,000 and 600,000 votes in the city, it has struggled to convert electoral presence into organisational revival. As the Bihar election results were being announced recently, one Pune resident summed up a sentiment widely shared among Congress sympathisers: the party has votes, but not enough dynamic young leaders to carry them. The question, as he put it, is not whether the youth can help the Congress, but whether the Congress will let them. Rewind to the early 2000s, and Pune’s political landscape looked very different. The Congress then had a formidable bench which included Suresh Kalmadi, Chandrakant Shivarkar, Mohan Joshi, Ramesh Bagwe and Abhay Chhajed. The BJP had Pradeep Rawat, Anil Shirole, Girish Bapat, Vijay Kale, Vishwas Gangurde and Dilip Kamble. Sharad Pawar’s NCP, then ascendant, rested on leaders like Ajit Pawar, Ankush Kakade, Vandana Chavan and Ravi Malvadkar. But the 2014 BJP wave flattened the hierarchy. The Congress crumbled; Kalmadi and Rawat faded from view; Gangurde exited the stage. The BJP replaced its old guard with Medha Kulkarni, and then Mukta Tilak, Chandrakant Patil, Bhimrao Tapkir, Madhuri Misal and Jagdish Mulik. Now, as Pune approaches the end of 2025, even Mohol - the BJP’s rising star - risks appearing ‘senior’ in a political landscape tilting toward younger contenders. Demographics are accelerating the shift. Given that Pune’s last civic polls took place eight years ago, an entire cohort of voters since then has reached adulthood. They cast their first ballots in the recent Lok Sabha and Assembly elections; now they will vote in municipal elections for the first time. Their concerns include urban mobility, climate resilience, digital governance, employment differ sharply from the older generation’s priorities. Their political loyalties, still fluid, are likely to crystallise around leaders who can speak to these new anxieties. The coming election promises a radical change in Pune’s political ecosystem. Long dominated by legacy figures, that ecosystem is set for nothing less than a generational reset. The departure of veteran leaders, the decennial rebalancing of parties, and the impatience of a newly enfranchised urban youth all point towards a younger, more competitive, and possibly more unpredictable political order. Whether this transition will deliver better governance remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the next generation seems determined not to wait another eight years to make itself heard.

Planning for Children's Wedding

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As wedding season returns, many of us attend functions and realise how expensive a modern wedding has become. A wedding is not only an emotional milestone but also a major financial milestone for any family. If you have children or plan to have children, preparing for their future wedding expenses should be treated as an important financial goal.


Among the major financial goals that families typically plan for, such as buying a home, purchasing a car, taking vacations, funding children’s higher education, and building a retirement corpus, saving for a child’s wedding is equally significant. Wedding expenses are usually very large and cannot be managed from regular monthly income. This makes it necessary to start saving and investing specifically for this purpose.


Setting the financial goal:

A financial goal is any large expenditure that cannot be handled from the current monthly income. Since wedding costs are substantial and rise with inflation, it is important to begin planning early. The best time to start is today.


Consider this example:

If your child is likely to get married in 15 years, and the estimated cost of the wedding today is Rs 30 lakh, you must factor in inflation. At an inflation rate of 7 percent annually, the cost of that wedding can rise to around Rs 83 lakh in 15 years.


How much to save and invest?

To build a corpus of Rs 83 lakh over the next 15 years, consistent investing is essential. Assuming an annual return of 12 percent on a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) in mutual funds, you would need to invest approximately Rs 18,000 per month to reach the target. This SIP should be exclusively dedicated to the wedding fund. Other important financial goals such as your retirement or your child’s education should have their own separate SIPs. SIPs can be viewed as “Sapna in Progress” - a dream that moves closer to reality with every disciplined monthly contribution.


Saving alone will not help you achieve long-term goals. To beat inflation and grow your wealth meaningfully, only mutual funds, stocks, and gold should be considered for long-term horizons. Traditional low-return options may not grow your money sufficiently.


Planning ahead:

Financial planning is not a one-size-fits-all process. Every family has different goals, timelines, and financial capacity. Consulting a qualified financial advisor is extremely important. Advisors bring education, experience, and expertise that can help you calculate your specific requirements, design the right investment strategy, and make adjustments as life circumstances change.


Final word:

Start early, stay disciplined, and invest wisely. A well-structured plan will ensure that when life’s important moments, such as your child’s wedding, arrive, you are financially ready and able to enjoy the occasion with peace of mind.


(The author is a Chartered Accountant and CFA (USA). Financial Advisor. Views personal. He could be reached on 9833133605.)

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