A clerical blunder by members of the rival faction, coupled by an unneeded boycott by the Shiv Sena corporators, the process to elect the chairperson of Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation’s (MBMC) coveted standing committee turned out to be a cake-walk for the BJP- which single handedly rules the civic body.
Putting to rest all speculations that the opposition would spring-up a surprise, BJP successfully managed to retain the chairmanship of the standing committee as Dinesh Jain was elected unopposed to the post. The election was held under the aegis of Mumbai suburb collector- Milind Borikar at the main administrative building of the MBMC in Bhayandar on Wednesday.
The 16-member standing committee comprises 10 corporators from the BJP followed by four and two from the Shiv Sena and Congress respectively. Going by the numerical strength of the BJP in the committee, it has been smooth sailing for their candidates for the past couple of years.
However, the growing intra-party rift within the BJP had fuelled speculations of an unprecedented outcome which failed to materialize. The nomination forms of Rakesh Shah and Suresh Khandelwal (both BJP) were rejected in accordance to the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, as they stood as proposers for each other and opted for the same member who seconded both the applications.
On the other hand the Shiv Sena boycotted the election process to register their protest against the BJP for discarding a resolution seeking nod for installing an equestrian statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Kashimira. With the Sena aspirant out of the fray, the two Congress members were left with no other option but to remain neutral in the one-sided battle.
“I will perform my duties diligently to boost developmental work and enhance civic amenities for the citizens of the twin-city.” said Dinesh Jain who is considered to be a staunch supporter of former BJP legislator- Narendra Mehta. Although Mehta has announced of taking political "sanyas" (retirement) in February, this year, his interference in the civic affairs continued unabated and Dinesh Jain’s victory has once again revealed his silent clout over the party.
The BJP desperately tried to put up a united face stating that both their other candidates had filed dummy nominations.
