Nagpur: A Muslim woman corporator, nominee of the ruling BJP-led Nagpur Vikas Aghadi, was on Monday elected as Deputy Mayor of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation.
Jaitunbi Ashfaque Patel, who got 83 votes, trumped BSP`s Shabhana Parveen Jamal by a margin of 46 votes.
Jamal was supported by opposition Congress and NCP.
Patel is the second Muslim corporator from BJP to take the post, the first being Majid Shola.
The BJP-led front`s nomination of a Muslim candidate for the post is significant as the saffron party is trying to woo the minority community ahead of next year`s elections.
Former BJP president Nitin Gadkari, who is contemplating making his electoral debut from Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency, has been meeting local groups from Muslim-dominated areas.
PTI
