Farooque Pathan
Nashik
For the first time in the political history of Nashik Municipal Corporation, Administrative rule has come into force. The first municipal election was held in 1992. After that, elections are held every five years to elect the city mayor. But this year, the picture is still unclear as to when the municipal elections, which have been stalled due to the pandemic and OBC reservation, will be held.
Meanwhile, due to the change of power in the state, uncertainties prevailed over the election dates. The Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA) government had created a three-member ward structure by increasing the 11 corporators in the Nashik Municipal Corporation. However, the Shinde government has cancelled the earlier decision of the MVA govt., without any clarity on the ward structure and ward-wise strength of the corporators — whether it will have three or four members. due to which confusion created among the citizens as well as the aspirants.
Elections are yet to be held in about 18 municipal corporations including Nashik, and Mumbai. The MVA government started the election process when Uddhav Thackeray was heading the State. During his regime, the number of corporators in Nashik Municipal Corporation increased from 122 to 133. A ward with a population of around 30,000 to 33,000 was structured as three members. OBC reservation was also implemented. Therefore, the NMC finalised the wards and published the voter list. About 3800 objections were filed on it.
They were also settled and the final voter list was announced.
Similarly, along with caste reservation, women’s reservation was also cleared through lottery. For the polling and the counting of votes, the NMC requires a total of 10 deputy collector-level officers as Election Decision Officers, A request was made to the Government. About 10,000 employees would be required. Its preparation was also completed. However, there was a change of guard in the state when the preparation of the administration was in its final stages.
Bharatiya Janata Party as well as the Shinde faction wrest the power from the MVA. In the process, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde directed the creation of new wards by reducing the number of corporators which was increased during the MVA regime. So the election process cooled down again.
