The stage is set for the much-awaited lottery draw to decide the ward-wise reservation for the upcoming Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) elections. The draw will take place on Tuesday, November 11, at the Suresh Bhat Auditorium, where the fate of many hopeful candidates will be decided as the reservation pattern for all 38 wards comprising 151 seats is finalized.
According to official data, 80 out of 151 seats will remain reserved this year. These include 30 seats for Scheduled Castes (SC), 10 for Scheduled Tribes (ST), and 40 for Other Backward Classes (OBC). However, since one seat in each of the 38 wards is already reserved for OBCs, the lottery will decide only two additional OBC seats this time — a move that has left many community aspirants anxious.
The reservation will be carried out following the cyclical rotation system as per government guidelines. As a result, the overall reservation pattern is likely to resemble that of the 2017 civic elections, with only minor changes expected, particularly in the women’s reservation category.
A rehearsal (dry run) of the reservation lottery was conducted on Saturday at the NMC assembly hall, while the final presentation will be held on Monday in the presence of the Municipal Commissioner. On Tuesday, students will draw slips from a box on stage to determine the reservation for each ward.
Officials confirmed that the reservation process will start afresh from zero, as this is the first election under the cyclical reservation system after the four-member ward pattern introduced in 2017.
Notably, based on population data, wards 15, 18, 19, 27, and 28 are unlikely to have any SC or ST reserved seats.
With civic elections on the horizon, political watchers believe that the reservation draw — especially with only two OBC seats up for grabs — could dramatically reshape the city’s electoral landscape and fuel new alignments within major parties.
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