Nagpur: The February 24 special general body meeting of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation is expected to go well beyond routine committee formation, turning into a critical exercise in political balancing and internal accommodation.
Despite its overwhelming numerical strength, the Bharatiya Janata Party faces a familiar problem of abundance. With 102 corporators in the 151-member civic house, the BJP is well placed to sweep all 12 committees, including the powerful 16-member standing committee and the 12-member transport committee. However, arithmetic presents a challenge: only about 73 corporators can be accommodated across the 12 panels, leaving nearly 30 BJP members without committee positions in the first round.
Committee berths are politically significant, offering influence over decision-making, access to funds, and administrative leverage. While the BJP is expected to secure 11 of the 16 seats on the standing committee and dominate other panels with six members each, sources say internal negotiations are intense-particularly over the standing committee chairperson’s post.
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The BJP has already announced that a woman corporator will be appointed as standing committee chairperson. Party sources further indicate that the BJP may push for women corporators to chair all 12 committees and could also urge opposition parties to nominate women members, making the exercise a broader political signal on representation.
The Indian National Congress, with 34 corporators, is likely to secure around 25 committee positions. Sources suggest the party may also accommodate the two corporators of Shiv Sena (UBT) in subject committees-though not in the standing or transport panels, which are seen as politically sensitive. This move would help Congress maintain opposition unity while ensuring smaller allies are not sidelined.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), with six corporators, is expected to get one seat in almost every committee, ensuring representation for all its members. Smaller parties such as IUML, Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction), Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), and Bahujan Samaj Party are unlikely to secure committee positions unless last-minute adjustments are made.
For the BJP, the committee formation process is less about overpowering the opposition and more about managing internal aspirations within a large majority. For Congress, the focus remains on maximising representation and keeping opposition allies firmly within the fold as civic politics in Nagpur enters a delicate phase of power-sharing and signalling.
