Latur Mayor Polls On Feb 9: Congress & VBA File Nominations For Top Civic Posts

Latur: Following the completion of the general election to the Latur City Municipal Corporation (LCMC), the election schedule for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor has been officially announced, with polling slated for Feb 9. On Thursday, four corporators submitted their nominations for the two key posts.

Congress corporator Jayshri Sonkamble and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) corporator Nikita Somwasnhi filed nominations for the post of mayor, while Snehal Utage of the Congress and Sachin Gaikwad of the VBA submitted their nominations for the post of deputy mayor.

Former mayor and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) [NCP (AP)] corporator Vikrant Gojamgunde announced that the party has decided to extend formal support to the VBA candidates in both the mayoral and deputy mayoral elections. He said the NCP (AP) follows the progressive ideology of Shivaji Maharaj, Shahu Maharaj, Jyotiba Phule and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and remains committed to social justice and ensuring political representation for deprived sections of society.

The support, he added, is aimed at securing a rightful share of power for the truly oppressed, exploited and marginalised communities as envisioned by Dr Ambedkar. Gojamgunde also appealed to corporators of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and those within the Congress who believe in Ambedkarite ideology to firmly support the VBA candidates.

He further remarked that the Congress had sought votes in the municipal elections using the name of Prakash Ambedkar and that the party’s strong performance was largely due to the significant contribution of the VBA. He criticised the Congress for, according to him, using the VBA only during elections and not giving it a fair share in power.

Reiterating the NCP (AP)’s stand, Gojamgunde said the party stands with the VBA under the self-respected leadership of Prakash Ambedkar in the interest of social justice and equitable governance in Latur.