The political landscape of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) saw a significant day of transitions on April 17, as the elections for the chairpersons of the ten administrative zones were concluded. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) maintained its strong foothold by securing eight zonal posts, while the Congress party managed to secure two zonal chairmanships. Congress win in hotly contested Ashi Nagar Zone was quite significant. The election process took place at the Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Memorial Standing Committee Hall. District Collector Kumar Ashirwad served as the presiding officer, supported by Additional Commissioner Ankit, Additional District Collector Pravin Mehre, and NMC’s Secretary Dr Ranjana Lade.

 

The proceedings were conducted in numerical order of the zones, with several candidates winning their seats unopposed. BJP’s unopposed eight victories The BJP demonstrated formidable strength, with eight of its candidates elected unopposed across various zones. Presiding Officer Kumar Ashirwad welcomed each winner with a bouquet in the presence of Standing Committee Chairperson Shivani Dani-Wakhre and Leader of the House Narendra (Balya) Borkar. Congress secures two key zones amid contested voting While most zones saw unopposed elections, Ashi Nagar (Zone 9) witnessed a competitive battle.

 

The contest featured Asif Sadiq Sheikh of Congress and Alisha Fahim Khan of AIMIM. Out of the 16 corporators present, Sheikh secured 8 votes, narrowly defeating Khan, who received 7 votes. Notably, BSP corporator Harshala Jaiswal supported the Congress candidate, while BJP corporator Kiran Manpiya remained neutral. In Mangalwari (Zone 10), the Congress party secured another win as Seema Dawre was elected unopposed. Here, Congress had absolute majority as most of the Prabhags were in West Nagpur Assembly segment. In fact, the support of lone BSP corporator to Congress candidate was quite surprising as till the other day, she was maintaining equi distance form two national parties. AIMIM: AIMIM Group Leader Shakil Patel criticised Congress for forcing contest in only one zone, while at other nine zones, the election to Chairperson was held unopposed.

 

He said, AIMIM had nominated Alisha Khan who is wife of Fahim Khan. Their house was demolished by NMC citing claims of latter’s involvement in Mahal riots. The demolition act was illegal and hence, AIMIM wanted to prove a point, but Congress chose to deliberately force election. He also criticised the stance adopted by BSP, saying the corporator chose to side with atrocities committed by the BJP-Congress combine. Leadership for Fire and Electricity Committee The BJP also consolidated its control over essential services. Rupali Thakur was elected as the Chairperson of the Fire and Electricity Special Committee, while Lakhan Yerawar was appointed as the Deputy Chairperson.