BJP’s Sameer Rajurkar ascended as first citizen of historic city

Both won the elections by a margin of 37 votes. They polled 70 votes and their rival AIMIM candidates secured 33 votes.

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The Mahayuti alliance hoisted the flag of victory at the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) headquarters on Tuesday morning. BJP candidate Sameer Rajurkar was elected as the 23rd mayor, while Shinde Sena candidate Rajendra Janjal won the post of deputy mayor.

Rajurkar secured victory by a margin of 37 votes, polling 70 votes, while his rival, AIMIM candidate Ashok Hiwrale, received 33 votes. Simultaneously, Janjal also polled 70 votes and won the deputy mayor’s election by the same margin of 37 votes. His opponent, AIMIM candidate Waseem Ahmed, secured 33 votes.

Meanwhile, the lone woman corporator from the Congress remained absent during the voting. Meanwhile, 11 corporators, including six from the Uddhav Sena faction, four from the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), and one from the NCP (Sharad Pawar group), chose to remain neutral and did not participate in the voting process for both the above elections.

Earlier, following the Marathi alphabetical order, the presiding officer first conducted the voting (by show of hands) for the AIMIM candidate, followed by the BJP candidate in the mayoral election. In the Deputy Mayor’s election, voting for the Shinde Sena candidate was held first, followed by the AIMIM candidate.

Three separate teams, each headed by a returning officer, recorded the votes cast by corporators along with their names and signatures. The presiding officer and district collector Deelip Swami was present on the dais along with municipal commissioner G Sreekanth and municipal secretary Nandkishore Bhombe, who supervised the entire election process.

Later, the presiding officer announced the voting details and formally declared Rajurkar as mayor and Janjal as deputy mayor.

Following the announcement, the CSMC headquarters and its surrounding areas echoed with celebratory slogans, as supporters and party workers of the Mahayuti alliance marked the victory by throwing gulal into the air, creating a festive atmosphere. Meanwhile, tight security was maintained by police during the election.