Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has publicly 'jabbed' Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar for his critical remarks against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the ongoing campaign for the Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune civic body elections. This political sparring highlights emerging tensions within the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. Fadnavis, addressing a rally in Pimpri-Chinchwad, asserted that while the BJP and Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are allies at the state level, they had mutually agreed to engage in 'friendly fights' in these specific civic polls. He stressed that this understanding included refraining from personal attacks or criticizing each other's parties. Pawar, leading his faction of the NCP, had reportedly been critical of the BJP's governance, particularly raising allegations of irregularities and corruption in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Fadnavis responded by taking a veiled dig at the previous NCP-led dispensation between 2012 and 2017 in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), citing stalled housing projects and substandard construction under the JNNURM scheme, contrasting it with the quality under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) during BJP's tenure. The Chief Minister expressed confidence in the BJP's performance, stating that Pawar's 'restraint appears shaken' and that his own work speaks for itself. The civic polls in Pimpri-Chinchwad and 28 other municipal corporations are scheduled for January 15, 2026, with vote counting on January 16, 2026. This intense campaign period has also seen Ajit Pawar's NCP faction releasing a joint manifesto with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) for the Pune elections, further complicating the political landscape.