Politicians scurry to reserve ward seats, nominate spouse

As over 80 per cent of the electoral wards have been affected by the delimitation and reservation declared by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday, corporators are now scurrying to reserve seats to contest the civic polls in 2017. Party leaders will either contest from the wards they contested from in 2007 or get other family members to context from wards reserved for women.

BJP's Vitthal Kharatmol, who contested the 2012 civic polls from ward no. 148, lost his seat as the ward is now reserved for women. He said, “My wife Rukhmini Kharatmol will now contest from my ward, instead.”

NCP corporator Harun Khan will also give up his seat for a woman candidate from his family. Congress's Asif Zakeria has decided to shift to his earlier ward or not contest.

Congress has alleged that the delimitation of wards has taken place in such a way as to benefit BJP corporators. Leader of the opposition Pravin Chedda said the BJP has tried to create pockets of its loyal communities through the delimitation. Meanwhile, MNS' Sandeep Deshpande said, "I have observed that areas thick with a non-Maharashtrian population are consolidated, while areas with a dense Maharashtrian population have been disintegrated and spread across several wards." MNS has lost almost every seat to delimitation.