Raipur
The reservation process for 70 wards of the Raipur Municipal Corporation has been completed, marking a significant reorganization of electoral constituencies, with 23 wards reserved for OBCs, 9 for SCs, and 3 for STs; a general-category woman is set to contest from the mayor’s ward, and of the 23 OBC-reserved wards, 8 are now allocated for women, while 3 of the 9 SC-reserved wards and 1 of the 3 ST-reserved wards are also earmarked for women; the remaining 35 unreserved wards include 11 designated for general-category women, profoundly impacting political equations across key constituencies, including the Maulana Abdul Rauf ward, the mayor’s ward, now reserved for general-category women, and the Dr. Khubchand Baghel Ward, represented by Leader of the Opposition Meenal Chaubey, which is now reserved for the OBC category.
The Brahmanpara-Kankalipara Ward has also been allocated to the OBC category, and the Sundarlal Sharma Ward, previously represented by BJP councilor and spokesperson Mrityunjay Dubey, is now reserved for general-category women; similarly, Pandit Dindayal Ward, represented by Congress councilor Gyanesh Sharma, has been shifted to the OBC category, leaving several prominent political figures scrambling to reassess their strategies.
In Ambikapur, a similar scenario unfolded as the ward reservation process for municipal elections was concluded on Thursday at the Collectorate Hall, with Surguja Collector Vilas Bhaskar and Municipal Commissioner DN Kashyap overseeing the finalization of reservations for the Ambikapur Municipal Corporation, Nagar Panchayat Lakhanpur, and Nagar Panchayat Sitapur; the Ambikapur Municipal Corporation now has two wards reserved for SCs, including one for women, 10 for STs, including three for women, and 12 for OBCs, with four for women, while 24 wards remain unreserved, out of which eight are reserved for women, reflecting a broader redistribution of power across demographic lines.
Following a fresh delimitation that altered ward boundaries and reservation statuses, the political landscape in Ambikapur has shifted dramatically, with a High Court petition filed by Congress councilors against these changes dismissed, and many councilors now facing the challenge of finding new wards to contest or stepping aside due to women-specific reservations; prominent figures affected include Shafi Ahmed, in charge of Public Works, Speaker Ajay Agarwal, Leader of the Opposition Madhusudan Shukla, and councilors Vikas Verma, Ajay Singh, and Manoj Kansari, illustrating the sweeping impact of these reservation processes on local governance.
