Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The voting for the fourth phase of Lok Sabha is on May 13. However, very few would be aware that there are 11 wards of the city, which are witnessing campaigning and canvassing of aspiring candidates from Jalna Lok Sabha Constituency. These electors, although staying within the city limits, could not elect an MP from Aurangabad Lok Sabha Constituency since 2009.
The municipal corporation has delimited 115 wards which are further divided into Phulambri (106), Aurangabad - East (109), Aurangabad- Central (107), and Aurangabad- West (108) legislative assembly constituencies. To adjust the required strength of the voter population in each assembly constituency, the Election Commission attached 11 wards to the Phulambri constituency, which falls into Jalna Constituency during LS polls. The population of these 'shifted' wards is around 25,000 voters, said the sources. Hence to know their take and jot down the feeling of the common man on the division, the City First spoke to a few alert citizens from different wards.
Former corporator Sohail Shaikh (Kamgar Colony- Ward No.88) said, “ It is true that the subjects and priorities of residents from 104 wards and 11 shifted wards differ but are not major. There is no politics in the division. At the ground level, the residents are pushed to think about when they will unite with their constituency. They live here, breathe here, but had to vote for a candidate of another constituency.”
Adds a hotelier Ramchandra Narote (Mukundwadi, Ward No. 83) said, “ This will be our fourth term where we will be electing the MP of Jalna. Our neighbouring wards are divided into two LS constituencies. Half of them get poll chits of Aurangabad Constituency and the remaining half of Jalna Constituency. The candidates of both the constituencies visit for campaigning in ‘shifted’ wards. Collectively speaking these elections are beyond civic issues.”
An active social worker Dammuanna Shinde (Thackeraynagar, N-2 Cidco, Ward No. 81) explains,“ Responding to the notice of the Election Commission, if the alert citizens or groups would have registered their objections while delimiting the Phulambri assembly (in 2009) and Lok Sabha constituencies then these wards would have been shifted. The impact of division mostly affects in the rural parts of the constituency rather than the urban sector.”
Balasaheb Munde, the husband of former corporator Manisha Munde (Jaibhavaninagar, Cidco 13th scheme, Ward No. 91) said, “ The MP or his office is sought only for the fair implementation of the Central Government’s scheme; procuring a letter for Tatkal tickets or seek acknowledgment for developmental proposals, etc. He is contacted for only big works or else the MLA or ward corporator is competent enough to resolve the local problems. The common people question the division, but their issues relating directly to the MP are less. Hence the demarcation of two constituencies becomes of least importance for them in general.”
Box
‘A city within a city’
The Phulambri assembly constituency comprises 11 wards including three partially divided with either Aurangabad-East (109) or Aurangabad-West (108) constituencies. The names of wards (and their numbers) are as follows:
Chaudhary Colony, Chikalthana (37)
Ambikanagar, Mukundwadi (82)
Mukundwadi (83)
Sanjaynagar, Mukundwadi (85)
Ramnagar (86)
Vithalnagar (87)
Kamgar Colony (88)
Chikalthana (89)
Divided Wards
Thackeraynagar, N-2 Cidco (81) - 109/106
Dyaneshwar Colony, Mukundwadi (84) - 106/108
Jaibhavaninagar, Cidco 13th Scheme (91) - 109 /106.