Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The reservation draw for the 115 seats of the municipal corporation election was held on Tuesday, bringing clarity to the political picture, and some trouble for prominent former corporators. Many senior leaders have been adversely affected by the reservation outcome and will now have to look for alternative prabhags (cluster of wards) to contest from.
Among them are former mayor Nandkumar Ghodele, who recently shifted from Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena to the Shinde faction; Dilip Thorat, former chairman of the Standing Committee from the BJP; Kailas Gaikwad, who also joined the BJP; and Raju Shinde, who had earlier contested the Assembly elections. All of them will now have to search for new prabhags to contest.
Ghodele’s Nakshatrawadi prabhag consists of three members. After the reservation, the seats there are designated as SC (Male), OBC (Female), and General (Female). Given this, Ghodele’s wife, Anita Ghodele, could contest from the OBC category seat. Ghodele himself may have to look for an alternative prabhag in the Satara–Deolai area.
Dilip Thorat had set his sights on Prabhag No. 21. However, three of the seats there have been reserved, leaving only one open (General) seat available. As many contenders are eyeing that spot, it remains uncertain whether Thorat will succeed in securing his candidature there.
Similarly, Raju Shinde, who earlier contested the Assembly elections from Uddhav Sena and later joined the BJP, will also have to seek a new prabhag. He has traditionally represented the N-1 area, which now falls under Prabhag No. 10. In this prabhag, seats have been reserved for OBC (Female), General (Female), and two General candidates. This means Shinde will have to contest under the General category if he wishes to run.
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Not contesting; but keeping options open
Former mayor Bapu Ghadamode has announced that he will not contest the upcoming election, but will reconsider the decision if his party insists. Similarly, Naser Siddiqui, former MIM group leader and two-time Assembly candidate, is also not inclined to contest this time. His prabhag is spread across an area of 15 km, making campaigning difficult. He is likely to face Afsar Khan of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi in that prabhag. Though Siddiqui has declined for now, he clarified that he would contest if directed by his party.