Thakre is 55th Mayor, Hathibed deputy as administrator rule ends

Nagpur: Elected governance returned to Nagpur Municipal Corporation on Friday after BJP's Neeta Thakre was elected the city's 55th mayor and party colleague Leela Hathibed taking charge as the 59th deputy mayor. The twin elections marked the formal end of administrator rule that began after the 2017 general body was dissolved in March 2022, making it the longest unelected phase in the civic body's history.As expected, both elections turned into a show of strength for the BJP, which enjoys an overwhelming majority in the 151-member House. Four-time corporator Neeta Thakre secured 104 votes in the mayoral poll, defeating Congress candidate Snehal Thakre, who polled 36 votes. Eleven corporators — 6 from AIMIM, 4 from IUML and 1 from BSP — remained abstained from voting. With this victory, Neeta Thakre became the 8th woman mayor of Nagpur.In the deputy mayoral election held shortly after, two-time BJP corporator Leela Hathibed secured 104 votes, while Congress nominee Vivek Nikose got 36 votes. Shiv Sena (UBT) corporators Kishore Kumeriya and Mangala Gaware supported Congress candidates in both the mayoral and deputy mayoral election.The elections were held at Suresh Bhat Auditorium, as the historic Town Hall is currently under reconstruction. The process, presided over by district collector Vipin Itankar, was scheduled to begin at 11am but commenced nearly half an hour late due to several corporators arriving behind schedule. Voting was conducted by a show of hands, following a 15-minute window given for withdrawal of nominations for each post.BJP's numerical dominance was evident throughout the proceedings. The party holds 102 corporators in the House, while Congress has 34. AIMIM has 6 members, IUML 4, Shiv Sena (UBT) 2, Shiv Sena 1, BSP 1 and NCP 1. The BJP also received support from NCP (Ajit) lone corporator, Abha Pande, and Shiv Sena (Shinde) Ganesh Charlewar, further consolidating its position.Despite Congress securing 2 votes more than its numerical strength, questions were raised within political circles over missed opportunities to forge a broader opposition front by aligning AIMIM, IUML and BSP corporators under the Nagpur Mahavikas Aghadi banner. Senior Congress corporator and party leader Sanjay Mahakalkar told TOI that efforts were made by senior leaders to bring these parties together, but the attempts did not succeed. He added that the party would continue efforts to build a stronger opposition alliance in the future.After being elected, Thakre briefly chaired the special general body meeting and congratulated all newly elected corporators, appealing for cooperation across party lines. She also announced senior BJP corporator Narendra Borkar as ruling party leader, while Mahakalkar was named leader of opposition. The House witnessed sharp political symbolism, with BJP corporators raising "Jai Shree Ram" slogans, while Congress members countered with "Jai Samvidhan".Later in the day, Thakre and Hathibed travelled in an open jeep to the BJP city office at Ganeshpeth, celebrating their victory with party workers. Both leaders are scheduled to formally assume charge of their respective offices on February 9 as expectations rise over governance, accountability and long-pending civic issues now that democracy has returned to Nagpur's municipal administration.Congress on time, BJP lateThe special meeting for mayor and deputy mayor election was scheduled for 11am. All Congress corporators were present in the House by 10.55am. In contrast, BJP corporators — many wearing traditional turbans—arrived late at the venue. The party's city president Dayashankar Tiwari and MLAs including Pravin Datke expressed displeasure over the delay. If the presiding officer took strict disciplinary action, several corporators could have been deprived of voting. Like BJP, corporators from the Muslim League and AIMIM also reached the House nearly 45 minutes late.