BJP’s Suryawanshi set to become mayor, NCP’s Magdum deputy mayor in Sangli

Kolhapur: BJP's Dhiraj Suryawanshi and NCP's Gajanan Magdum are poised to become the mayor and deputy mayor, respectively, of the Sangli Miraj Kupwad Municipal Corporation, with no opposition candidates filing nominations for the Feb 10 election.In the recent municipal corporation elections, BJP won 39 seats — one short of a simple majority, while NCP, which contested independently on 33 seats, secured 16, followed by Congress (18), Shiv Sena (2) and NCP (SP) (2). Despite a heated campaign and sharp exchanges between BJP and NCP politicians, the fractured mandate prompted BJP leader and Sangli guardian minister Chandrakant Patil to seek NCP's support.Both parties agreed that BJP would hold the mayoral post and NCP the deputy mayor's position for a full five-year term. With multiple contenders within BJP and no local consensus, the decision was escalated to minister chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who chose Suryawanshi for the mayor's post. "Suryawanshi, a former deputy mayor, was selected partly because he lost the previous election after six BJP corporators defected," Patil said.BJP and NCP have also internally agreed to rotate the mayor and deputy mayor positions every 15 months, ensuring each aspirant gets a term.Speaking on Shiv Sena's potential support, Patil said discussions were on to determine an appropriate post for the party, which has two corporators. "Combining all three parties would give the alliance a comfortable strength of 57 corporators," he said.Suryawanshi, now in his third term as a corporator, belongs to the faction led by city president Shekhar Inamdar, which won eight seats in the election. He has previously served as chairman of the municipal corporation's standing committee.