Chandrapur: The dispute over the Congress party's group leadership in the Chandrapur Municipal Corporation (CMC) has tilted in favor of the camp led by Member of Parliament Pratibha Dhanorkar, after the divisional commissioner upheld the claim of the majority group of corporators. The order is being viewed as a significant setback for the faction led by MLA Vijay Wadettiwar, which had backed Rajesh Adur as the party group leader in the Chandrapur civic body.
Key Developments
Congress corporator Sunil Khandelwal, a key member of the Dhanorkar camp which has 16 corporators, confirmed that the hearing was held before Divisional Commissioner Vijayalakshmi Bidari in Nagpur. He added that the formal order was communicated via email on Wednesday.
Notably, the faction led by Rajesh Adur had approached the authority with competing claims and demanded the disqualification of 16 Congress corporators who had defied the whip issued by the group leader in the civic body. The faction aligned to MP Dhanorkar elected Surendra Vitthalrao Adbale as its group leader, asserting that the existing leadership no longer enjoyed the support of most Congress corporators.
Commissioner's Ruling
Bidari in her ruling has upheld the election of Adbale as Congress group leader, replacing Adur with immediate effect. In her order dated June 17, a copy of which is with TOI, Bidari noted that the Congress municipal group was formally registered on February 6, 2026, with 27 elected corporators and Adur as its unanimously elected leader. However, on June 16, a resolution signed by 16 of the 27 Congress corporators sought Adur's removal and elected Adbale as the new group leader.
The commissioner relied extensively on the Supreme Court's landmark judgment in Sunil Haribhau Kale vs Avinash Gulabrao Mardikar and Others (Civil Appeal No. 2080 of 2015, decided on February 20, 2015). The apex court had ruled that once a municipal party or alliance is constituted and recognized, it alone has the authority to elect or replace its leader. The court further held that no original political party can impose or nominate a leader, and any leadership change must occur through a democratic process within the municipal group itself.
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