NMC budget session under cloudafter MLC bypoll announcement

Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation's key budget session, scheduled for Tuesday at Suresh Bhat Auditorium, is uncertain after the Election Commission announced bypoll to MLC seat from the Nagpur Local Authorities' Constituency. Polling for the seat is scheduled for June 18, with counting on June 22.The bypoll was necessitated after BJP's Chandrashekhar Bawankule vacated the council seat after being elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in Nov 2024.The timing is significant because NMC standing committee chairperson Shivani Dani Wakhare is due to present the civic body's 2026-27 budget — the first standing committee budget in nearly four years. Since March 2022, the NMC was under administrator rule, and budgets were presented by the municipal administration.Municipal commissioner Vipin Itankar has sought permission from the district election officer to hold the budget session while the model code of conduct is in force. The matter is sensitive because corporators of municipal corporations and councils form part of the electorate in the Nagpur Local Authorities' Constituency.Political observers say the election announcement could affect both the timing and tone of the budget, especially amid speculation over development allocations and ward-wise funding commitments ahead of the politically sensitive contest.Dani Wakhare, a first-time corporator, had invited public suggestions while preparing the budget. But the standing committee may now have to wait over a month to place it before the general body. With 151 elected representatives and 10 nominated corporators eligible to vote in the MLC election, presenting the budget during the model code period could be seen as a violation.Till Monday late night, the NMC had not received clearance from state election authorities. The request was routed through district returning officer Kumar Ashirwad, and by 9pm the district election office was still awaiting a response from the chief election officer in Mumbai.Ruling party leader Narendra Borkar said the NMC was likely to get approval on Tuesday morning and the budget would be presented as scheduled. Dani Wakhare said that if the Election Commission's nod did not come through, the special general body meeting convened at 10am for the budget presentation would be adjourned.