PUNE: The Congress and the NCP, who have now come together to share power at the Pune Municipal Corporation, have reached a strategic arrangement on what turns they would take to occupy top offices that are to be filled up soon.
Accordingly, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will retain the offices of the mayor for the remaining two-and-half year tenure while the deputy mayor's office will go to the Congress. Among the key offices, the NCP has agreed to allocate the education board office to the Congress. There are already reports that the Congress would nominate one of its senior leaders, Sangeeta Tiwari, to the office.
The Congress would also be given the office of the chairman of the standing committee of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), but it is still not decided whether this would be next year or the year after.
The reservation roster for the mayor's office, drawn at the state-level, has still not been drawn. The most likely situation is it may go either to the OBC or ST group. In case it goes to the ST, there is a lone women claimant to the post belonging to the NCP.
Meanwhile, guardian minister Ajit Pawar and Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi are scheduled to hold a second meeting on Nov. 20. Among other issues on the agenda are the awarding if the INR1,200 crore tender for work on Sinhagad Road.
