Nationalist Congress Party corporator Baburao Chandere was elected the Standing Committee Chairman yesterday, beating his nearest rival by a margin of five votes.

Chandere received nine votes, while his opponent and BJP corporator Shrinath Bhimale could get only four votes. The 16-member Standing Committee was formed last week.

MNS corporator Kishor Shinde was also in the race for the post of chairman, but he withdrew his nomination at the last minute and remained absent from the voting. MNS corporators Rajendra Wagaskar and Neelam Kulkarni were also absent.

The NCP has six members in the Standing Committee, while the BJP, the MNS and the Congress have three members each. The Shiv Sena has only one member in the Standing Committee.