From Ground Zero #1 : Pune Civic Polls

Photo : Sanket Wankhade

It’s a bright sunny day here in Pune, and its obvious that our citizens are ready to brave  the scorching heat all to get the election results, first hand.

Photo: Sanket Wankhade

There’s a large crowd gathered here at S P College, Tilak Road in keen anticipation of the crackle of the loudspeaker giving out the numbers. Kailash Satpute has been standing in the same spot since 10 am. He has voted for NCP. “I have voted for them not because they said that they will work for us, but because they have already done so much work in our area. We have regular water supply and NCP has supported the flyover from Vithalwadi to Manekbaug. Other parties like BJP have not done enough work. They gave a ticket to those who haven’t done anything.”

Another NCP supporter, Nand Kumar Jagtap claims that the party is never one to make false promises. “We have concrete roads, underground cabling and biogas supply. Even if I have a complaint at 2 am in the morning, I am heard.”

Photo : Sanket Wankhade

Kailash Gurav believes that if BJP is ruling in the centre and state, then it should rule in Pune too, ” All the candidates who have been given a ticket are good. We want development. I voted for BJP in all four ward panels.”

He refutes claims that BJP candidates have criminal records, instead he alleges that all the criminals are in other parties…

Standby for more updates today ..

Our team is right there at the major counting centres to bring you the highlights of the activity, the mood and the emotions as leads emerge..

Current trends indicate BJP leading the PMC and NCP dominating the PCMC. Too early to say, pollsters and candidates say with over an hour left before we see winners being declared..

Reporting For Pune365 : Vijayta Lalwani with Sanket Wankhade and Ruturaj Mogali