New Kolhapur mayor requests people to greet her with a pen instead of bouquets & garlands

Kolhapur: Rouparani Nikam, the new mayor of Kolhapur Municipal Corporation, has made a unique appeal for people to bring a pen worth Re 1 with them instead of spending hundreds on flower garlands and bouquets. She said the pens collected from people who came to meet her would be given to students from municipal schools.Nikam also made a resolution to implement the ‘Mayor At Your Doorstep' initiative. Nikam announced that Janata Darbar will be held at the Municipal Corporation Chowk on the fifth day of every month.
As the KMC mayoral elections were held after a gap of over six years, there was a huge rush to congratulate the newly elected mayor, deputy mayor, and the group leaders of all the political parties. People spent hundreds of rupees to bring garlands and bouquets.Mayor Rouparani Nikam, on Saturday, addressed the crowd gathered at her house to felicitate her and said, "I thank everyone who came here to congratulate me for becoming the first BJP and Mahayuti mayor of Kolhapur. No one should spend money on garlands and bouquets and face financial loss. Instead of bouquets and garlands, just bring a Re 1 pen. The pens collected from your good wishes will be given to the children studying in municipal corporation schools."Nikam, who holds a diploma in Pharmacy, represents the municipal corporation for the second time in the House. She made a name for herself as a scholarly representative. In the KMC House, from 2015 to 2020, she presented well-researched presentations on various topics and resolved many questions related to public toilets, garbage, water scarcity, women's self-help groups, etc. She formed more than 23 women's self-help groups in the ward. She was a regular participant in the discussions on the city development plan.Nikam has an educational institution, a computer academy, a cable network, and an earth-moving business. She has worked in BJP for many years and was also the district president of Mahila Morcha. She is currently the district vice-president of BJP. In 2015-2020, she was elected from Rajendranagar ward. This year, in 2026, she won from the general category in ward number 18.