Chandrapur (Maharashtra), Feb 10 (IANS) In a major political development, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday secured the Mayor’s post in the Chandrapur Municipal Corporation in Maharashtra after six corporators from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) supported the party, defying the official party line.
The election of Sangeeta Khandekar as Mayor is a setback for the Congress, which had emerged as the single largest party in the recent civic polls but fell short of the top post by just one vote.
Sources in Shiv Sena (UBT) said the Chandrapur unit decided to support the BJP due to dissatisfaction over friction and internal differences within the Congress.
The mayoral election saw a close contest. BJP nominee Sangeeta Khandekar secured 32 votes against 31 votes received by the Congress candidate. Two corporators from the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) remained absent, while the lone All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) corporator abstained.
The effective majority mark came down due to the AIMIM abstention and VBA absence, helping the BJP secure the win.
The victory came after six Shiv Sena (UBT) corporators went against clear directions from the party leadership to oppose the BJP.
Just an hour before the vote, Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut had addressed a press conference in Mumbai and said party chief Uddhav Thackeray had instructed members to sit in the opposition instead of supporting the BJP.
“We will not support the BJP under any circumstances. Even if we have to sit in the Opposition, we will do so, but we will not help the BJP come to power,” Raut had said.
However, local leaders in Chandrapur went ahead with the decision to back the BJP. Sandeep Girhe, district chief of the Thackeray faction, defended the move and cited a lack of cooperation from the Congress.
Speaking to reporters, Girhe said the decision to support the BJP was taken with development in mind and due to what he described as a snub by senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar. According to Girhe, the Congress had refused to share the Mayor’s post during the five-year term.
Under the reported arrangement, the BJP will hold the Mayor’s post for the first 15 months, after which Shiv Sena (UBT) will take over. Shiv Sena (UBT) will hold the Deputy Mayor’s post for the full five-year term and will chair the Standing Committee in the first and fourth years.
The development has caused unease within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. Sources said the Shiv Sena (UBT) leadership is considering disciplinary action against Sandeep Girhe and the six corporators for anti-party activities and for not informing the leadership about local-level negotiations.
The current strength of the 66-member Chandrapur Municipal Corporation is Congress 27, BJP 23, Shiv Sena (UBT) 6, Jan Vikas Sena 3, VBA 2, AIMIM 1, Independents 2, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) 1, and BSP 1.
–IANS
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