Mpl poll schedule to help parties tackle rebellion

 

 

 

 

Major political parties — Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress — in Nagpur are facing the issue of satisfying a lot of aspirants of Nagpur Municipal polls. Usually disappointed ones get involved in party-hopping or try to contest as an independent-- a rebel candidate. But the election schedule and the strategy of the leaders may prevent the rebellion. BJP has experienced a torrent of aspirants for contesting the polls.

 

There are 151 wards while the number of aspirants approaching BJP has exceeded 3,000. It means almost 20 aspirants are competing among each other for one Prabhag. City President Dayashankar Tiwari drafted criterias as an eligibility for aspiring candidates. Tiwari himself reached 2,168 booth heads in city much before the announcement of the elections. He explained to them the criterias and also asked to reach out to the aspirants to make them aware of it.

 

The party conducted surveys also and clearly told the aspirants that on the basis of the surveys the names will be finalised. The election schedule is tight and no major parties have declared their candidates till now. Last minute declaration will prevent the disappointed aspirants to switch to other parties or contest as independent as they will not get time to file nominations.

 

If they are able to file nominations they won’t get much time for campaign (Last date of filing nomination is December 30 and the date of allotment of symbol is January 3, 2026. Even if they succeed in filing nominations, they won’t be able to reach over 50,000 people of the Prabhag within 12 days as voting will be held on January 15, 2026). The schedule doesn’t favour friendly fights. It can’t be predicted if some leaders had asked their confidants to be prepared to contest polls even if they don’t get Party’s ticket officially. Only such rebellions may succeed as they were expected to have high preparedness.

 

BJP may send AB forms directly to candidates The BJP in Nagpur is adopting a strategic approach for the municipal polls, likely sending AB forms directly to candidates to avoid internal conflicts. Congress is expected to contest 125 seats, distributing the remaining 26 among Maha Vikas Aaghadi constituents. In the meeting of Party’s Parliamentary Board, the High Command finalised the number. In BJP, Chandrashekhar Bawankule had a meeting with Sena leaders Uday Samant, Adv Ashish Jaiswal, Sanjay Rathod, Kiran Pandav, after which he declared the alliance, but didn't specify the seat sharing. It means the confusion reigns supreme in Mahayuti about the seat sharing. The BJP's alliance with Sena is unclear, with internal opposition to the alliance, fearing it may impact their chances of winning more seats.