Nagpur: The ruling BJP took a U-turn on its controversial plan to reshuffle prabhags in the city to increase its political control in zonal offices, following strong protests from opposition corporators.The issue had surfaced after the March 20 general body meeting, wherein mayor Neeta Thakre approved suggestions backed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to alter the existing prabhag arrangement. The move triggered sharp reactions from corporators of the Congress and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), who later submitted a memorandum to the mayor and municipal commissioner Vipin Itankar, demanding that the decision be withdrawn.Confirming the rollback, ruling party leader Narendra ‘Balya’ Borkar said the prabhag and zonal structure would remain unchanged. “The existing system will continue as earlier,” he said, adding zonal leadership would now be decided based on the current political strength in each zone.As per the present arithmetic, Congress is expected to secure chairmanship in Mangalwari zone, while Ashi Nagar zone is likely to be claimed by IUML with support from its alliance partner, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). Both parties together have a stronger presence there, and support from the lone Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) corporator could further tilt the balance.Opposition leader Sanjay Mahakalkar earlier accused the ruling party of attempting to manipulate the prabhag structure to dominate all zones, except Ashi Nagar. With the BJP now stepping back, the issue has temporarily cooled off, but political tensions within the civic body remain high ahead of the zonal chairperson elections. Confirming the development, Mahakalkar said he has not received any official communication from the civic administration. “But the development is confirmed,” he said.
