Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Amid intense lobbying by local corporators for the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation’s (CSMC) mayor’s post, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Ravindra Chavan has directed party leaders to hold discussions and forward a limited number of names to the party high command.
Acting on this directive, local BJP leaders met and deliberated on probable contenders, deciding to send four names to the senior leadership. While the shortlisted names remain undisclosed, party sources said the final name is likely to be announced today.
After securing a strong majority of 57 seats in the CSMC polls, several senior BJP corporators have emerged as aspirants for the mayor’s position. Prominent names in the race include Sameer Rajurkar, Mahesh Malvatkar, Pramod Rathod, Raju Vaidya, Shivaji Dandge and Anil Makariye, all of whom have been actively lobbying along with their supporters.
Meanwhile, Minister Atul Save, former Union Minister Dr Bhagwat Karad and MLA Sanjay Kenekar have also pushed the names of corporators backed by them, resulting in the absence of a consensus within the party.
Chavan was in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Tuesday, Feb 3, in connection with meetings related to the upcoming Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections in the Marathwada region. After reviewing the CSMC election results, he held discussions with senior leaders and, noting the growing number of aspirants and internal competition, instructed local leaders to narrow the list and submit a few agreed-upon names, sources said.
Most mayoral aspirants met Chavan at the BJP office in Chikalthana during his visit. After his departure, a late-evening meeting was held involving Minister Save, Dr Karad, Kenekar, city BJP chief Kishor Shitole, Shirish Boralkar and former mayor Bapu Ghadmode. Discussions were held on various names, and it is learnt that four shortlisted names were sent to the party high command late at night.
The BJP has not yet announced the group leader in the CSMC. With senior corporators competing for the mayor’s post, local leaders are considering a formula under which one leader would be appointed mayor and another group leader. Party insiders said that if the group leader is announced first, the corporator’s chances of becoming mayor would effectively be ruled out.
