Vadodara: The Congress, which had just seven councillors in the last Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) board, now faces a tricky situation in its lone stronghold following the latest reservation rotation. Of the seven, four councillors were elected from Ward 1 — a bastion that is now set for a reshuffle.Ward 1 has been the party’s only pocket of strength in the city, with its entire panel winning in both 2015 and 2021. In the last election, the ward had all general seats, and Ami Ravat, Pushpa Waghela, Jaha Desai and Harish Patel were elected on Congress tickets.However, for the upcoming civic polls, two of the four seats in the ward have been reserved — one for an OBC woman and another for an ST male candidate. This has put the party in a bind, as none of the sitting women councillors belongs to the OBC category, while neither of the male councillors is from the ST community.With limited options, both women councillors — Ravat and Waghela — are eyeing the lone general seat for women, while Desai and Patel are looking at the general seat for men. The party has in the past fielded candidates from reserved categories on general seats, but the current configuration has made adjustments more challenging.The Congress is now exploring ways to accommodate all its sitting councillors. Options under consideration include fielding spouses of incumbents either in Ward 1 or in other wards. The party also claims to have at least two strong ST male candidates for the reserved seat.Despite various permutations, at least one aspirant may have to either shift to another ward or sit out this election. “The party is making all efforts to ensure that reservations do not affect its prospects in the ward,” a party functionary said.
