AMRAVATI: The Amravati Municipal Corporation (AMC) elections are witnessing a high-voltage political contest, with multiple alliances in the fray. These include the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a Congress-led front, the Shiv Sena (UBT)–MNS alliance, the Shiv Sena–Prahaar alliance, an alliance of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) with the Communist Party, and the Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA)–United Forum combine.In the Amravati Municipal Corporation, which has 87 electoral wards, the BJP is leading in 13, the NCP in seven and Congress in five. The Yuva Swabhiman Party of MLA Ravi Rana was leading in two seats.
In the last AMC elections held in 2017, the BJP emerged as the single largest party, winning 45 of the 87 seats and firmly establishing its dominance in the civic body. Barring Muslim-dominated pockets, the BJP secured at least one seat in almost every prabhag across the city.The party registered a clean sweep in Shegaon, Mahendra Colony–New Cotton Market, and Gadgadeshwar prabhags, winning all four seats in each of these areas. Equally striking was the performance of the AIMIM, which won 10 seats, including all four seats in the Chhayanagar–Gawalipura prabhag, dealing a severe blow to the Congress.The Congress was reduced to just 15 seats, while the NCP failed to win a single seat and was completely wiped out. The BJP wave swept aside several political heavyweights, including sitting Congress mayor Rina Nanda and senior party leader Avinash Mardikar.The BJP’s own opposition leader, Sanjay Agrawal, also suffered a defeat, losing by 849 votes to a strong independent candidate, Dinesh Boob, from the Jawahar Stadium prabhag. In contrast, all other BJP candidates in the prabhag recorded impressive victories. Rita Sunil Padole was elected unopposed, marking a first in the history of the Amravati Municipal Corporation.The BJP surge spared neither allies nor rivals, as the Shiv Sena managed to win only seven seats in the 2017 civic polls.
