BJP set to retain control of Nagpur Municipal Corporation, beats anti-incumbency

Nagpur, Jan 16 (PTI) The BJP was on Friday set to seize power in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) for the fourth time in a row, helped by its strong organisation and influence of top leaders Devendra Fadnavis, Nitin Gadkari and Chandrashekhar Bawankule.

As the counting was underway, the saffron party claimed that it had won 97 of the 151 seats and was leading in another 10 seats.

The party has remained unassailable in Nagpur, home to the headquarters of its ideological parent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, since 2007.

While the BJP contested 143 seats this time, its ally, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena contested eight. The Congress contested all 151 seats on its own.

In the last NMC elections, the saffron party had won 108 seats.

Senior Journalist Vivek Deshpande told PTI that it was wrong to believe that any anti-incumbency sentiment prevailed in the city before the polls.

As Chief Minister Fadnavis, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and state minister Bawankule hailed from the city, there was no question of any let-up in the party's continuing influence on voters, he said.

The three leaders frequently visited the city and made their presence visible. The Congress and other opposition parties, on the other hand, made no concerted efforts to rebuild their depleted base and were missing from the scene, Deshpande noted.

The people did not seem to face any major civic issue, and the opposition was also hobbled by the lack of financial, human and organisational resources compared to the BJP, he said.

City BJP chief and former Nagpur Mayor Dayashankar Tiwari told PTI that Union minister Gadkari, chief minister Fadnavis and revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule did not make the people realise that there were no elected representatives for the last three years (after the term of the previous civic body expired), and kept development projects going in Nagpur.

Party workers and former corporators were active on the ground and in touch with the people, he said.

Gadkari addressed more than 30 public meetings while Fadnavis addressed five public meetings, road shows and talk shows, he noted.

Senior political journalist Nitin Totewar said despite a Congress-led government ruling the state between 2007 to 2012, BJP retained power in the Nagpur civic body which reflected the strength of its organisation.

The party changed nearly half of its candidates, offered new faces, and managed internal disgruntlement well, he added.

BJP spokesperson Chandan Goswami said the party fulfilled the hopes of the people of Nagpur and connected with them. PTI CLS KRK