Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
Preparations are under way to convene the second general body meeting of the municipal corporation’s 115 newly elected corporators either by the end of February or in the first week of March. During this meeting, 16 members will be elected to the standing committee. Prior to this, political parties are required to register their groups with the divisional commissioner. Members will be selected in proportion to the relative strength of each party. It is almost certain that the BJP will continue to dominate the standing committee.
The first general body meeting of the municipal corporation was held on February 10, during which only two agenda items, the election of the mayor and the deputy mayor, were taken up. Corporators are now awaiting the second regular general body meeting. As the civic elections were conducted after a gap of five years and ten months, the newly elected corporators are particularly keen for the regular proceedings to begin.
Mayor Sameer Rajurkar is set to finalise procedural rules for conducting the meeting. As per the proposed rules, no subject raised at the last minute by corporators or proposals submitted by the administration will be entertained. Discussions will be limited strictly to items listed on the agenda. Corporators will be required to submit their proposals to the mayor at least eight days in advance.
BJP likely to secure eight seats
Following the election of the mayor and deputy mayor, attention has now turned to the constitution of the standing committee. Sixteen members are expected to be elected during the second general body meeting. As the BJP holds the largest number of corporators, it is likely to secure eight seats on the committee. The AIMIM is expected to get five seats, the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena two, and the Uddhav faction one.
The status of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) group remains uncertain, and it is not yet clear which party may gain an additional seat. The post of standing committee chairman is also expected to remain with the BJP. Aspirants within the party have already begun active lobbying to secure this key position.