Nagpur: The political landscape of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) witnessed a significant reshuffle on April 17 as elections for chairpersons across all ten administrative zones were concluded. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reaffirmed its dominance by clinching eight zonal chairmanships, while the Congress managed to secure two posts. Notably, the Congress victory in the fiercely contested Ashi Nagar Zone stood out as a key highlight, marking an important breakthrough amid BJP’s overall stronghold.
The election process took place at the Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Memorial Standing Committee Hall. District Collector Kumar Ashirwad served as the presiding officer, supported by Additional Commissioner Ankit, Additional District Collector Pravin Mehre, and NMC’s Secretary Dr Ranjana Lade. The proceedings were conducted in numerical order of the zones, with several candidates winning their seats unopposed.
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Apr 18 2026 - Time 10.30Hrs
BJP’s unopposed eight victories
The BJP demonstrated formidable strength, with eight of its candidates elected unopposed across various zones. Presiding Officer Kumar Ashirwad welcomed each winner with a bouquet in the presence of Standing Committee Chairperson Shivani Dani-Wakhre and Leader of the House Narendra (Balya) Borkar. Congress secured two key zones amid contested voting.
While most zones saw unopposed elections, Ashi Nagar (Zone 9) witnessed a competitive battle. The contest featured Asif Sadiq Sheikh of Congress and Alisha Fahim Khan of AIMIM. Out of the 16 corporators present, Sheikh secured 8 votes, narrowly defeating Khan, who received 7 votes. Notably, BSP corporator Harshala Jaiswal supported the Congress candidate, while BJP corporator Kiran Manpiya remained neutral.
In Mangalwari (Zone 10), the Congress party secured another win as Seema Dawre was elected unopposed. Here, Congress had an absolute majority as most of the Prabhags were in the West Nagpur Assembly segment. In fact, the support of lone BSP corporator to Congress candidate was quite surprising as till the other day, she was maintaining equi distance from two national parties.
AIMIM:
AIMIM Group Leader Shakil Patel criticised Congress for forcing a contest in only one zone, while at other nine zones, the election to Chairperson was held unopposed. He said, AIMIM had nominated Alisha Khan who is the wife of Fahim Khan. Their house was demolished by NMC citing claims of the latter’s involvement in Mahal riots. The demolition act was illegal and hence, AIMIM wanted to prove a point, but Congress chose to deliberately force an election.
He also criticised the stance adopted by BSP, saying the corporator chose to side with atrocities committed by the BJP-Congress combine.
Leadership for Fire and Electricity Committee
The BJP also consolidated its control over essential services. Rupali Thakur was elected as the Chairperson of the Fire and Electricity Special Committee, while Lakhan Yerawar was appointed as the Deputy Chairperson.
