Another BJP corporator, Deepaksingh Rawat, was chosen as Deputy Mayor of the Nanded Waghala Municipal Corporation (NWMC), where elections were conducted last month alongside 28 other civic bodies across the state
In the 81-member corporation, the BJP secured a comfortable majority with 45 seats. Representational Pic
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator Kavita Mule was elected Mayor of Nanded city in central Maharashtra on Tuesday, winning by a margin of 35 votes in a three-way contest, an official said, reported news agency PTI.
Another BJP corporator, Deepaksingh Rawat, was chosen as Deputy Mayor of the Nanded Waghala Municipal Corporation (NWMC), where elections were conducted last month alongside 28 other civic bodies across the state.
Mule defeated her nearest opponent, Mahejbin Abdul Faheem, a candidate of the Congress-Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) combine, by 35 votes, the official added. The Mayor’s post was reserved for a woman, reported PTI.
A special meeting to elect the Mayor and Deputy Mayor was held at the NWMC headquarters in the presence of the presiding officer and Nanded District Collector Rahul Kardile.
In the 81-member corporation, the BJP secured a comfortable majority with 45 seats. The party was supported by the Shiv Sena, which won four seats, and an independent member also extended support to the BJP for the two posts.
For the Mayor’s post, BJP candidate Kavita Mule secured 50 votes, while her nearest rival, Faheem, received 15 votes, and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) corporator Alkesri Sumayya received 14 votes, the official said, reported PTI.
BJP wins Chandrapur mayor’s post with Sena (UBT) support; Congress alleges horse-trading
The Congress, which appeared set to secure the mayor’s post in the Chandrapur Municipal Corporation, faced a setback on Tuesday after BJP corporator Sangeeta Khandekar was elected Mayor with backing from Shiv Sena (UBT).
Prashant Danav of Shiv Sena (UBT) was elected Deputy Mayor.
Nominations for the mayoral post included Manasvi Sandeep Girhe (Shiv Sena UBT), Sangeeta Mangal Bhoyar, Sangeeta Gopalakrishna Amritkar, Sunanda Dilip Dhobe, and Vaishali Ajay Mahadule (Congress), along with BJP’s Sangeeta Rajendra Khandekar and Sarika Sachin Sandurkar.
Khandekar edged out her nearest rival by a single vote, thanks to the support of Shiv Sena (UBT), surprising political observers who had expected the party to back Congress.
State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal alleged horse-trading, blaming Sena (UBT), AIMIM, and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) for the outcome. “The BJP secured 32 votes and Congress 31. Sena (UBT) has six corporators and was expected to support Congress, but instead backed the BJP. This will have consequences in the state,” Sapkal said.
The January 15 civic polls had delivered a fractured mandate. Congress emerged as the largest party with 27 seats in the 66-member body, followed by BJP with 23. Sena (UBT) won six seats, Bharatiya Shetkari Kamgar Paksh (Janvikas Sena) three, VBA two, AIMIM and BSP one each, along with two independents.
Sapkal added that the BJP gained the upper hand with support from AIMIM, while VBA corporators stayed absent during voting. “Had VBA, with whom we had a genuine alliance, supported Congress, our candidate would have won. This is clearly horse-trading,” he said.
Addressing internal divisions in Chandrapur Congress, Sapkal asserted that party corporators were united and differences among leaders had been resolved. “It is only because of Sena (UBT), AIMIM, and VBA that the BJP could install its mayor,” he added.
(With PTI inputs)
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