APRIL 5: A large number of newly-elected Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) corporators to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) have been whisked away to a safe place by their leader Ganesh Naik as hectic behind-the-secenes activities have begun for the mayor's post. The mayoral polls will be held on May 9.The increase in the mayor's tenure to two years this time has added to the significance of the mayor's post. The NCP has 27 corporators and is six short of the magic figure of 33 needed to have its candidate elected as mayor. But Naik has claimed the support of five independents and the lone corporator of the Peasants and Workers' Party.However, the NCP is vertically divided into two groups, one owing allegiance to Naik and the other led by the party's Navi Mumbai unit president D R Patil. The Naik group corporators have been whisked away to keep them away from ``external influence,'' party sources said.This is not the first time Naik has kept his followers out of the city. Even when his son Sanjeev Naik was slated to become the city's first mayor five years ago, he had sent his group away to a holiday resort.The mayoral battle gains increased importance with certain Congress-I corporators propping up the name of Patil as part of ``an understanding to share power.'' The Congress-I has 16 corporators, including an independent whom it supported in the election, and it hopes to break the NCP under the leadership of Patil.``The idea is to keep Ganesh Naik at bay in the civic body,'' a senior Congress corporator said. There are five independents, who are divided on party lines. But the Shiv Sena with its nine corporators could easily swing fortunes for the new mayor.
