Navi Mumbai panel system sidelines ward-level heavyweights, fuels defections

With the satellite city moving from 111 single-member wards to 28 multi-member panels, what was once a hyper-local contest rooted in personal rapport and ward-level work has become a numbers-driven exercise dependent on organisational reach and vote transferability across much larger geographies

NAVI MUMBAI: The introduction of the multi-member panel system for the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections has fundamentally redrawn the city’s civic political landscape.

Navi Mumbai panel system sidelines ward-level heavyweights, fuels defections

With the satellite city moving from 111 single-member wards to 28 multi-member panels, what was once a hyper-local contest rooted in personal rapport and ward-level work has become a numbers-driven exercise dependent on organisational reach and vote transferability across much larger geographies. It has triggered strategic defections across parties and pushed independents to the margins even as voters struggle to adjust to a more complex voting process.

The Maharashtra government introduced the panel system professedly to ensure collective leadership and better handling of civic responsibilities. It believes that the structure promotes cohesive planning for adjacent areas, speeds up development schemes, and ensures fairer representation across different caste and gender categories.

One of the clearest consequences of the panel system has been the erosion of leverage enjoyed by leaders who built influence in compact wards over multiple terms. Former corporators with strong personal bases have found that dominance in a single locality no longer ensures electoral viability.

This was evident in the decisions of former corporators Vikram Raju Shinde and Anil Kaushik, both denied tickets but opting not to contest as independents despite loyal voter bases in their earlier wards. “Earlier, control over one ward could carry you through,” said Shinde. “Now, without party backing, there is no mechanism to influence voters in the other three segments.”

The panel format has proved even more punishing for independent candidates. Campaigning across three or four merged wards has increased costs and diluted door-to-door outreach. “Voters keep asking, ‘If I vote for you, who do I vote for in the other three seats?’ ” said an independent candidate from Turbhe, who is no longer campaigning.

The new system has also reshaped the logic of defections ahead of polling. In several panels, opposition leaders such as Congress Navi Mumbai president Poonam Patil, NCP city president Namdeo Bhagat and NCP (SP) city president Chandrakant Patil found themselves isolated as the lone former corporator alongside three BJP or Shiv Sena candidates and chose to defect rather than contest against a stronger slate.

Opposition parties say the panel system has diluted traditional strongholds. “We may be strong in one sector, but the panel includes three others where we have no base,” said former NCP (SP) corporator Manda Bhoir. “A large part of the campaign goes into simply introducing ourselves to voters.”

Manda Galugude, an MNS candidate from Ghansoli, said her alliance had struggled to field full panels. “There are two candidates from our alliance in the ward, but we could not find suitable candidates for the other two seats,” she said. “We are therefore asking our supporters to press NOTA in the remaining seats.”

BJP insiders say the panel system favours camps that can centrally manage ticket distribution, engineer vote transfer across merged areas and deploy workers beyond traditional ward boundaries—advantages long associated with the Ganesh Naik-aligned BJP leadership in Navi Mumbai. “The panel system rewards coordination and control,” said a BJP leader.

Shiv Sena leaders say that multi-member panels allow the party to combine established faces with newer entrants. In Vashi, Navi Mumbai chief Kishor Patkar, who is leading the Shiv Sena panel with a first-time candidate, said, “The panel system allows us to fight as a team. It helps leaders who are strong in one pocket but need organisational backing elsewhere.”

Voters are still trying to understand the new format. “I knew my corporator earlier,” said Kopar Khairane resident Venkata Varadhan. “Now there are four names in the panel, some from areas far from my sector. It’s not clear whom I will approach for local issues.”

Other voters are confused about the fact that they have to press four buttons and choose four candidates instead of just one. To address this, NMMC has undertaken an awareness campaign through social media and hoardings. As have several candidates like Patkar, who has set up awareness booths with dummy EVM machines. “There is a real fear of losing votes because many voters are still unaware that they must cast all three or four votes,” he said.