BJP Edges Past Congress in Chandrapur Mayor Election by One Vote
In a political thriller that kept Chandrapur on the edge of its seat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clinched the mayor's post by a single vote on Tuesday. The final tally stood at 32 votes for BJP against 31 for the Congress-led alliance, with the outcome hinging on unexpected support from Shiv Sena (UBT) and a crucial abstention by Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM.
The Numbers Game and Pre-Election Dynamics
When results for the 66-member Chandrapur civic body were declared nearly a month ago, Congress emerged as the single largest party with 27 corporators, followed closely by BJP with 23. This set the stage for an intense numbers game, with the magic figure of 34 required to secure the mayor's position.
The balance of power rested with pre-poll allies Shiv Sena (UBT) and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), whose combined eight corporators held the key to victory. However, internal conflicts within Congress derailed potential negotiations with Sena UBT.
Internal Rivalry and Failed Negotiations
A bitter feud between Congress Lok Sabha member Pratibha Dhanorkar and senior MLA Vijay Wadettiwar over control of the civic body created significant obstacles. Wadettiwar traveled to Mumbai to meet Uddhav Thackeray and offered the mayor's post to Sena UBT, but the deal collapsed when the Congress high command failed to resolve the internal rivalry.
The conflict escalated dramatically, with Wadettiwar alleging that "someone" attempted to kidnap his corporators from a bus on the highway, adding to the political tension in Chandrapur.
BJP's Strategic Maneuvering
Amidst this turmoil, BJP veteran MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar moved swiftly to capitalize on Congress's disarray. Despite being bitter rivals at the state level, Mungantiwar reached out to Sena UBT with a compelling offer: a 15-month rotational stint as mayor for UBT, along with backing for an Independent candidate for the deputy mayor's post to bolster numbers.
For two days prior to the election, Chandrapur buzzed with speculation that BJP had successfully sealed a pact with Sena UBT and VBA, whose combined eight corporators would provide the crucial margin of victory.
Election Day Drama and Twists
As corporators assembled to vote on Tuesday morning, the arithmetic initially appeared to favor BJP with 34 votes: their own 23, one from ally Shinde Sena, six from Sena UBT, two from VBA, and two independents. The Congress-led bloc seemed headed for defeat with just 32 votes.
Then the script took an unexpected turn. VBA's two corporators failed to appear for voting, reducing the BJP-led alliance to 32 votes, exactly equal to Congress's number. Just as Congress sensed a potential comeback, AIMIM's lone corporator Azhar Shaikh announced he would abstain from voting.
Shaikh later explained his decision: "Congress never approached us, never showed us respect and treated us as untouchables. That's why I abstained." This single decision proved decisive, handing BJP the mayor's post by one vote.
Post-Election Developments and Future Implications
The political drama continued even after the mayor's election. During the deputy mayor's election, Shaikh reversed course and voted for the Congress-backed candidate, resulting in a 32-32 tie. Fortune again favored BJP when the tie-breaker draw went their way.
According to the pact between BJP and Sena UBT, the two parties will share the mayor's post for 15 months each, after which the roster will change and fresh elections will be held. Mungantiwar later stated that the alliance with Sena UBT was forged "in the interest of Chandrapur's development and to break the political deadlock."
In the end, Congress walked away with what many observers described as a painful distinction: snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in one of Maharashtra's most dramatic municipal elections.
