Crumbling Nashik to elect civic body today

NASHIK: Citizens of a crumbling city weighed down by rising crime and civic apathy will get a chance to vote for a better Nashik, as they cast their ballots for 122 seats in the Nashik Municipal Corporation on Thursday. A total of over 10 lakh eligible voters are expected to exercise their franchise as political pundits and even leaders fear a hung house in the corporation.
Abrupt transfers of municipal commissioner B D Sanap and city police commissioner Vinod Lokhande, following an outrage over increasing crime graph and allegations of irregularities in the civic body, have dotted the poll landscape.
Politically, there has been a shift in the scenario from 2007 when the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance was voted to power. For this election, the Sena and the BJP have snapped ties to go solo, while the Congress and the NCP have formed a pre-poll alliance. However, the Sena is supported by the Republican Party of India (Athawale faction).
Besides, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which was established in 2006 and had made a debut in the NMC in 2007 with 12 seats, is hoping to increase its tally and, at least, play a kingmaker.
The fresh political realignments ahead of the civic elections are likely to result in a hung house, with no political party or alliance getting a clear majority in the NMC. The NCP, under the leadership of guardian minister Chhagan Bhujbal and his nephew Sameer Bhujbal, who is the Nashik Lok Sabha MP, is making all efforts to wrest power in the NMC from the saffron parties and claims that the pre-poll alliance had given a boost to its political fortunes.
The Sena, which has snapped ties with its old ally the BJP, is facing an uphill task with too many foes in the fray, including the formidable rival, the MNS. Sena leaders, however, claim that its pre-poll alliance with the RPI (A) would pay rich dividends.
The elections come at a time when the citizens are facing an unending spurt in crimes ranging from chain-snatching and vehicle thefts to robberies and burning vehicles. The deterioration of law and order in the city had prompted Sameer Bhujbal to write letters to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and home minister R R Patil to order a CID probe into the rising crime graph. State election commissioner Neela Satyanarayan, too, had taken note of it by saying that after Gadchiroli, Nashik was the most sensitive place in the entire state in terms of law and order.
Besides, in the run-up to the polls, there were allegations of mismanagement of civic affairs not only by the city fathers or civic leaders, but also the then municipal commissioner B D Sanap. He continued to receive flak on various issues like defying the state government over the terms and conditions during acquisition of land for a sewerage treatment plant at Gangapur, passing out the MS-CIT examination and even allegedly defying norms while deciding the venues for polling.
Panchavati
Polling to decide the fate of 145 candidates for 24 seats in Panchavati division will be held on Thursday. In Panchavati division, near 2 lakh voters, including 85,605 women will exercise their franchise and decide the fate of145 candidates. The voting will take place at 243 polling stations across all 12 wards in the division.
The major candidates in the fray include Bhagwan Bhoge (Shiv Sena), Reema Bhoge (Shiv Sena), Mangala Tajane (BJP) and Congress rebel Gurmeet Bagga, challenging the official Congress nominee Dinesh Bachhav, who is the husband of former minister of state Shobha Bachhav.
Cidco
In Cidco division, near 2 lakh voters are set to elect its representatives to 22 seats from the 169 contestants. Some of the key contestants from the division include Shivaji Chumbhale from NCP, Praveen Tidme, Sudhakar Badgujar, Lakshman Jaybhave, Apoorva Hiray, Rajendra Mahale, Dileep Datir, Ashwini Boraste, Seema Badade, Kalpana Pande among others.
Nashik West
The Nashik West division mainly comprises areas in the heart of the city, with about 1.6 lakh voters. High profile candidates like Vinayak Pande, Ajay Boraste, Devynai Pharande, Uttam Kamble , Shahu Khaire, Gokul Pingle and Dr Hemlata Patil have made winning in their respective wards a prestige issue.
Nashik East
The division is full of heavyweights with Gajanan Shelar, former president of NMC standing committee Sanjay Chavhan, Chandrakant Khode, Amol Jadhav, Musheeer Sayyed, Shahu Khaire, Naiyya Khaire, Vatsala Khaire, Sachin Marathe staking claim to the seats. Shahu Khaire, Satish Kulkarni and Chandrakant Khode are seeking a fourth time entry into the house. This division with over 2 lakh voters, barring a few wards will see a keen contest among the candidates for the 24 seats on offer.
Satpur
The Satpur division has 1.2 lakh voters who will elect 14 corporators. The key contestants include Congress leader Dinkar Patil, Shashikant Jadhav (MNS), Sena's Rajendra Nagre, Ashok Gavli (Sena), and RPI (A) leader Prakash Londhe.
Nashik Road
Nearly 2 lakh voters are getting ready to elect 24 members from a total of 202 contestants from their wards. The high profile candidates from this division include outgoing mayor Naina Gholap, Dinkar Adhav (NCP) and Maya Dive (Congress).