Though the BJP put up a strong show across the 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra, the Vidarbha region proved to be a mixed bag for the party. While it retained its bastion of Nagpur, the hometown of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, and scraped through in Akola and Amravati, the Chandrapur civic body grabbed the limelight after the BJP – with some help from unexpected quarters – turned the tables on the Congress to install its mayor there.
The Congress emerged as the single-largest party in the Chandrapur Municipal Corporation, winning 27 of 66 seats as against the BJP’s 23. The Shiv Sena (UBT), a Congress ally, won six seats while the Congress-backed Bharatiya Shetkari Kamgar Paksha bagged three. The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), another Congress ally, secured two seats, while the AIMIM, BSP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena won one each, besides two Independents.
On paper, the arithmetic appeared to favour the Congress, which was expected to take control of the civic body with the support of the Sena (UBT), VBA and smaller allies. What followed, however, was a fortnight of intense manoeuvring marked by factional infighting, strategic outreach and last-minute crossovers — culminating in a one-vote victory for the BJP in the mayoral election Tuesday.
BJP’s early setback
The BJP’s initial setback in Chandrapur came amid visible tensions between senior leader Sudhir Mungantiwar and MLA Kishor Jorgewar, who joined the party in 2024, during the campaign for the local body polls. The rift surfaced during the dedication ceremony of the Rs 280-crore Pandit Deendayal Chandrapur Cancer Hospital.
Mungantiwar, without naming Jorgewar, publicly expressed anguish, alleging that a party MLA had tried to stall the event. The episode seemingly dented the morale of the BJP cadre and gave the Congress an opportunity to highlight divisions within the ruling party.
Congress’s troubles
However, as the civic poll results trickled in, the Congress found itself grappling with its internal fissures.
The Congress’s troubles began after its Chandrapur MP Pratibha Dhanorkar and party MLA Vijay Wadettiwar locked horns over control of the district unit and the civic body. Dhanorkar accused Wadettiwar of indulging in factional politics and staking claim to her parliamentary constituency.
Wadettiwar responded sharply, saying “Becoming an MP does not mean one owns a district,” underlining his long association with Chandrapur. He dismissed speculation of defections and maintained that all groups would unite to ensure a Congress mayor is installed.
The rivalry reflects deeper political currents. Wadettiwar, a five-term MLA who shifted from Chimur to Brahmapuri in 2014, has long been the Congress’s most notable face in the region and a prominent Teli leader.
Dhanorkar, who won the Lok Sabha elections 2024 following the death of her husband and former MP Balu Dhanorkar, commands significant support among Kunbis. Her elevation altered the district’s internal power balance.
The friction had surfaced earlier during the Lok Sabha ticket allocation, when Wadettiwar had lobbied for his daughter Shivani, but the party high command chose Dhanorkar.
After the corporation results, the tussle turned organisational. Both leaders sought to place loyalists in key civic and district posts. At one stage, Dhanorkar acknowledged that corporators had been moved to a hotel to “ensure their safety”. Supporters of both camps operated independently, bypassing the party hierarchy.
Wadettiwar led a delegation of corporators to meet the Congress central leadership in Delhi to demonstrate strength. Eighteen corporators aligned with his camp briefly approached the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court over a group registration dispute before withdrawing the petition within 24 hours, saying the matter had been resolved.
Eventually, the Congress high command and the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) proposed a power-sharing formula: the mayor’s post for the Dhanorkar camp and the group leader’s position for the Wadettiwar faction. Publicly, Wadettiwar asserted that all 27 Congress corporators would vote together and that there was “no confusion” over the mayoral post.
Sena (UBT)’s crossover
While the Congress projected unity, it struggled to manage its allies. The Sena (UBT) initially staked claim to the mayor’s post. The party’s district president Sandip Girhe said discussions were held with Congress leaders, including Wadettiwar, but alleged that the Congress — particularly Dhanorkar — was unwilling to offer the post even once during its entire term.
Senior Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare later said the decision to align with the BJP was taken by the local leadership, in line with the party’s policy of empowering district units in civic polls. She said party chief Uddhav Thackeray had been kept informed and that there was no discord between the local and central leadership on the matter.
VBA, AIMIM tilt scales
While the AIMIM remained neutral in the mayoral election and stayed away from voting, the VBA corporators also abstained from casting their votes. Although the AIMIM did not field a candidate for mayor, it contested the deputy mayor’s post, backing its nominee Pappu Deshmukh and voted in his favour.
On the other hand, Sources said VBA corporators had been directed to support the Congress but failed to turn up on polling day, triggering the prospect of disciplinary action against local leaders.
Amid indications that these abstention aided the BJP’s win, the VBA dissolved its city executive committee and suspended its city president for taking a stand contrary to the party line.
BJP snatches victory
The shifting poll landscape saw the BJP’s mayoral candidate Sangita Khandekar win the poll by a single vote. While Khandekar got 32 votes, the Congress’s Vaishali Mahadole managed to get only 31.
State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal blamed the AIMIM’s “neutrality” and VBA abstention for the defeat but maintained that all Congress corporators had voted as a united bloc. He also accused the BJP of “horse-trading”.
Sapkal warned that the fallout could reverberate across Maharashtra, particularly as the Congress and Sena (UBT) are partners in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). He hinted that similar political tests could await Sena (UBT) in corporations where it holds stronger numbers.
Hitting back, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut blamed the Congress for the “mess”, reportedly saying that the grand old party should be “ashamed” of not being able to clinch power in Chandrapur despite emerging as the single largest party.
Lost opportunity for Congress
By the time of the mayoral election, the BJP appeared to have set aside its internal differences with Jorgewar publicly saying that while Congress leaders were “busy managing their own corporators”, the BJP was united and exploring all options to install its mayor.
For the Congress, Chandrapur signalled a revival — an improvement from 12 seats in 2017 to 27 this time, largely attributed to Wadettiwar’s organisational groundwork and Dhanorkar’s Lok Sabha win – till internal rifts handed the advantage to the BJP.