Cong,NCP eyes on BJP bastion

This BJP dominated panel which is a combination of two wards -- DAD Colony and Salisbury Park -- has been represented by women corporators.

This BJP dominated panel which is a combination of two wards — DAD Colony (119) and Salisbury Park (98) — has been represented by women corporators. Now,it has been reserved for OBC (general) and open category (women)

The area continues to be a stronghold of the BJP with sitting corporator Vandana Bhimale’s husband and former corporator Shrinath Bhimale all set to contest in the OBC general category. “I have once got elected in a panel system in 2002 elections and it’s only after the ward was reserved for women that my wife Vandana Bhimale contested the elections and won by a good margin,”says Shrinath Bhimale who is keen to contest on a BJP ticket.

While the other ward Salisbury Park (98) from Kavita Vairage is a sitting corporator of BJP is likely to again get the nod. As the assembly constituency i dominated by BJP with Madhuri Misal as the MLA,and the BJP having dominated the panel elections in 2002,the party has more hopes than any other political party to get its representatives get elected.

However,Congress and NCP are not giving up and are tossing new names who could break the hegemony of the BJP. The Congress names which are being discussed include that of former corporators Datta Gore and Usman Hiroli. Congress women members whose names are floating around includes Manjulata Mehta,Madhubala Loda,Kiran Ramnani while NCP’s Madan and Yogesh Pawar.

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