Razor thin wins in NMC polls show Congress taking the tightest calls

Nagpur: The NMC polls verdict was far closer than the headline seat tallies suggest. Beneath the sweeping mandates lay a string of nail-biters: 16 of the 151 wards were decided by margins of 1,000 votes or less, and another 26 fell within a 2,000-vote spread — making more than a quarter of the House genuinely competitive. Congress emerged as the standout in these cliffhangers, pocketing the 2 narrowest victories of the election. Sheela Tarale scraped through Dhantoli's Prabhag 33-C by just 74 votes, while Abhijeet Jha survived by 122 votes in Dharampeth zone's Prabhag 14-D. The third-closest contest underlined the fractured nature of several wards, with BSP's Harshala Jaiswal winning Ashi Nagar zone's Prabhag 7-C by a slender margin of 397 votes.
Even the BJP, which otherwise recorded commanding margins across multiple zones, had its share of close shaves. Its tightest win came in Dharampeth zone's Prabhag 14-B, where Madhuri Tekam (ST-W) prevailed by 494 votes, while IUML's Saima Qureshi edged ahead by 514 votes in Ashi Nagar zone's Prabhag 6-C. Smaller parties were firmly in the photo-finish frame. Congress bagged 2 squeakers — Shailesh Dorle by 554 votes in Laxmi Nagar zone's Prabhag 38-A and Sanjay Mahakalkar by 628 votes in Nehru Nagar zone's Prabhag 30-B. Shiv Sena (UBT) nicked in the same zone's Prabhag 28-B by 643 votes, while NCP's Abha Pande survived by 656 votes in Satranjipura zone's Prabhag 21-C. Overall, the Congress dominated the ultra-tight category, winning 7 of the 16 ≤1,000-vote contests. BJP and Congress secured 2 each, with BSP, IUML, NCP, Shiv Sena and Shiv Sena (UBT) claiming 1 apiece. Geographically, Dhantoli and Mangalwari zones produced the most nail-biters at the sharp end, with 3 each under the 1,000-vote mark. When the lens widens to ≤2,000 votes, Ashi Nagar stands out as Nagpur's volatility belt with 9 such seats, followed by Nehru Nagar (8) and Mangalwari (5). In contrast, Lakadganj emerged as a fortress, posting the city's highest average winning margin of around 8,069 votes.With a citywide median winning margin of 4,225 votes, these cliffhangers serve as a warning: modest swings in turnout, rebel damage or booth-level mobilisation could easily flip dozens of wards next time.