BJP’s winning candidates taking out a victory rally with the party’s workers, on Friday. (Pic by Anil Futane)

 

 

 

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) maintained its victory run in Nagpur Municipal Corporation polls. In 2017, BJP had won 108 seats. With over 5,000 aspirants competing for 151 tickets, the party faced some challenges. Barring a few, not many aspirants rebelled. Sharing seats with Shiv Sena in Nagpur was another big challenge for the party. Shiv Sena did not have a strong foundation in civic body polls, but it insisted on alliance.

 

Finally, BJP had to contest on 143 seats. Had it contested on all 151 seats, it would have made a difference and its tally might have increased. Opposition Congress tried to spread the message that BJP would face anti-incumbency factor. But the outcome of the polls proved the claim of Congress wrong. BJP mainly contested the elections on the issues of development. Its leader Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis did not speak anything against any leader of the Opposition. During the campaign, Fadnavis along with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, State Election Head Chandrashekhar Bawankule and other leaders kept promoting the development works the party did in Nagpur. Even with issues like water, huge 

 

 

Shiv Sena (UBT) had won two seats in 2017 as Kishor Kumeria and Mangala Gaware stood victorious. They both had won in last polls too. The victory of Kumeria was difficult as his own colleague Nitin Tiwari too was the candidate against him in the same prabhag. They both contested from the open category ward. Contrary to Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) lost all its seat including that of its city President Duneshwar Pethe. Pethe had been the lone corporator of the party for the last three consecutive terms. Aabha Pandey, who had been winning from her prabhag for the last three terms as Independent, won comfortably as the candidate of NCP (Ajit Pawar).