Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
All political parties have completed the formal process of interviewing aspiring candidates for the municipal corporation elections. However, fearing rebellion, the parties have not yet announced the names of their candidates. The AIMIM party, however, surprised many by announcing eight candidates on Wednesday. These eight names include a few ordinary party workers whose names were not being considered contenders at all. Through this move, the party appears to be sending a message that even grassroots workers are given due recognition. This has come as a major shock to several senior aspirants, and those seeking tickets at the last moment have been left anxious.
In the 2015 municipal corporation elections, the AIMIM had performed well by fielding 60 candidates and getting 24 elected. Party chief Barrister Asaduddin Owaisi and state president Imtiaz Jaleel played a significant role in this success. In the municipal corporation, the AIMIM functioned as the opposition party. With an eye on maximising the number of elected candidates in the 2025 general elections, the state president himself has been closely monitoring the situation. It is being said that Jaleel is keeping a strict watch on who indulged in anti-party activities during the recent Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, and on who failed to work for the party.
It appears that an experiment to introduce new faces has begun in the municipal corporation elections. Of the eight candidates announced in the first list released on Wednesday, only one is a former corporator. The remaining seven are newcomers who have been actively working for the party. It is expected that only a limited number of former corporators will be given confirmed places in the second and third lists, with priority being given to those who have worked for the party. According to some party office-bearers, a few aspirants seeking tickets at the last moment may get lucky, while others may be dropped altogether.