Cracks Widen, Cadres Restless: Congress Walks into NMC Polls Divided

Nagpur: After a crushing defeat in the municipal council and nagar panchayat elections in Nagpur district, Congress appears to be heading into the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) battle bruised and divided. With the deadline for distribution of nomination forms for the January 15 NMC polls ending on December 30, the party is still unsure about its own candidates.Instead of showing strength, Congress has put its internal wars on full public display. The flashpoint was the ticket interviews at Devadiya Bhavan. Former corporators Manoj Sangole, Purushottam Hajare, and Kamlesh Chaudhary were stopped at the door — a clear signal that the party may dump them in the final list. The move stunned ground workers and widened the rift between the top leadership and ward-level organisers.Sangole, a five-time corporator with a proven hold over North Nagpur, is known to mobilise two to three corporators from his prabhag. Yet, he now finds himself sidelined. He once took on Congress MLA Nitin Raut as a BSP candidate, later returned to the party, and is now being kept at arm's length again.Party sources say Sangole received no assurance from Congress, and even the BSP is unwilling to accommodate him. Politically stranded, he remains powerful enough to damage the Congress vote.Chaudhary, a three-time corporator from West Nagpur, was punished for backing independent candidate Narendra Jichkar against city Congress chief Vikas Thakre. Now, he is reportedly in talks with BJP leaders and is prepared to contest as an independent if ignored. Hajare, accused of repeated "anti-party" behaviour, also commands pockets of loyal voters.Each of them may or may not win, but all have the potential to hurt Congress. The rebellions do not end there. Former Leader of Opposition Tanaji Wanve has already walked out to the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, while Darshani Dhawad has crossed over to the BJP. Ramesh Punekar and others have challenged official candidates in the past, while Abha Pande's 2017 victory as an independent remains a constant reminder that the party does not always control the voter.In the last general body, Congress had 29 corporators, BJP 108, BSP 10, Shiv Sena 2, NCP 1, and others 1. While the BJP is aggressively moving to retain power, the Congress leadership has not decided on whether to accommodate strong rebels or let them walk out. Compounding the party's troubles, every passing day is widening the rift within Congress.If independents mushroom across key wards, BJP may have its task cut short, with Congress defeating itself in the NMC polls, the results of which will be declared on Jan 16. Unless the party acts swiftly, reconciles factions, and restores discipline, this election will be remembered not for a tough contest, but for how Congress ceded political space through confusion and delayed decisions.