Top candidates confident of win, despite rebellion

Mumbai: Amidst the cauldron of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls, all eyes will be over 25 wards, which are in the news due to pulsating contests among candidates there. These wards will decide the future of prominent candidates, who are likely to be allotted some of the important posts in the civic body in future.

According to sources, factors like delimitation and reservations have forced some corporators to lock horns with each other for the polls. In a bid to sustain their political existence, some had to change their wards and some are fortunate to have returned to their original wards. While some have quit their original party and switched their royalties to others, some have declared open rebellion against their party nominees.

Some of the prominent candidates engaged in this fierce battle are Shiv Sena members Shailesh Phanse, Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, Ramesh Korgaonkar, Vishakha Raut, Kamini Shewale, Surendra Bagalkar, Samadhan Sarvankar; BJP candidates Prakash Darekar, Mahesh Parkar, Prabhakar Shinde, Neil Somaiya, Mangesh Sangle, Bhalchandra Shirsat, Atul Shah; Congress candidates Sheetal Mhatre, Jyotsna Dighe, Pravin Chheda.