'Ruling NMC a cakewalk'

NAGPUR: It seems the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is having a "free reign" of sorts in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation House since the last eight months, thanks to a divided Opposition and none leading the Opposition charge. Sources said there was intense factionalism in the Congress—the main Opposition party in the NMC.
However, a 10-member Nationalist Congress Party, led by Vedprakash Arya, have asked municipal commissioner Sanjay Sethi whether they could claim the Opposition leader's post.Arya recently submitted a memorandum to Sethi, asking him whether any other party can stake claim for the post as the Congress had failed to elect a leader of Opposition in the civic house. Sethi would soon take a decision in this regard, sources said.
The Congress, which has 32 members in the civic house, lost to the BJP-led alliance in February. The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee had appointed a two-member 'high-powered' committee, comprising senior party leader Bhaskarrao Khatgaonkar and agriculture minister Balasaheb Thorat to look into the Opposition leader's appointment. However, the team was flummoxed by claims of the two party groups warring for the leader's post.
Now, the equations have changed in the NMC after the recently held by-polls in which the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance suffered a major setback and the ruling coalition is now reduced to minority with 66 members in the 136-member civic House.
In the numbers game, the BJP with 51 members and its allies, Sena-8, RJD-3, Muslim League-1 and Independents-6 add up to 66. On the other hand, notionally at least, the Congress-led opposition along with 10 RPI corporators, 6 Independents and others have a strength of 65 even after excluding the five Adim Samvidhan Sang-harsh Samiti (newly-formed Halba outfit) candidates who have now won in the by-poll.