Chandrapur, February 10 The Congress, which was on track to win the mayoral seat in the Chandrapur Municipal Corporation, faced a setback on Tuesday after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator Sangeeta Khandekar was elected to the post with the support of Shiv Sena (UBT).
Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Prashant Danav was elected as the deputy mayor.
Nominations for the mayoral post were filed by Manasvi Sandeep Girhe of Shiv Sena (UBT), Sangeeta Mangal Bhoyar, Sangeeta Gopalakrishna Amritkar, Sunanda Dilip Dhobe, and Vaishali Ajay Mahadule of the Congress, as well as BJP's Sangeeta Rajendra Khandekar and Sarika Sachin Sandurkar.
BJP's Khandekar defeated her nearest rival by one vote to secure the mayoral post with support from the Shiv Sena (UBT).
Reacting to the development, state Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal alleged horse-trading and blamed the Uddhav Thackeray-led party, AIMIM, and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi for the outcome.
"In the Chandrapur mayoral election, the BJP secured 32 votes and Congress 31. The Sena (UBT) is an ally in the MVA and the India bloc. With its six corporators, the Sena (UBT) was expected to support the Congress. However, the party chose to support the BJP. This development will have consequences in the state," he told reporters in Mumbai.
Political circles in Maharashtra were stunned when the BJP outmaneuvered the Congress, which had appeared better positioned to install its mayor, by enlisting the support of Sena (UBT) corporators.
Till Monday, there was no clarity on alliances in the civic body following a fractured verdict in the January 15 polls.
The Congress emerged as the largest party with 27 seats in the 66-member civic body, while the BJP came close second with 23, prompting a race between the two parties to form a coalition to secure the coveted mayoral and deputy mayoral posts.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) had managed six seats, three for the Bharatiya Shetkari Kamgar Paksh (Janvikas Sena), two for the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), one each for AIMIM, BSP, and Shiv Sena. Two independents also won the polls, the results of which were declared on January 16.
Sapkal said the BJP gained an advantage due to the support of the AIMIM, while the Prakash Ambedkar-led VBA remained absent during the voting.
"If the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, with whom we had formed a genuine alliance in the civic body polls, had supported the Congress, our candidate would have won. There was horse-trading," he added.
On the factional feud within the Chandrapur Congress, he said that the corporators of the party were united, and he had resolved differences among Congress leaders in Chandrapur.
"It is only because of the Shiv Sena (UBT), AIMIM, and VBA that the BJP could install its mayor," the Congress leader said.
