CHH. SAMBHAJI NAGAR

At the time of India’s independence, the region that now forms Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district, formerly known as Aurangabad, was part of the princely Hyderabad State ruled by Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan. In 1948, the region was annexed into the Indian Union through Operation Polo and formally integrated by 1950.

Following the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, Hyderabad State was divided among the newly drawn linguistic states. This region was merged into the Bombay State. Later, with the Bombay Reorganisation Act of 1960, Bombay State was bifurcated into Maharashtra and Gujarat, and the region became part of Maharashtra. In February 2023, the district’s name was officially changed from Aurangabad to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, in honor of the Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.

The Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district consists of the Aurangabad Lok Sabha constituency, which includes the Vidhan Sabha segments: Kannad, Aurangabad Central, Aurangabad West, Aurangabad East, Vaijapur, and Gangapur. Along with these constituencies, some Vidhan Sabha segments of Jalna Lok Sabha fall in the district: Sillod, Phulambri, and Paithan.

Within the Vidhan Parishad, the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar District is represented by Aurangabad Local Bodies Authorities Constituency, the Aurangabad Teachers’ Constituency, and the Aurangabad Graduates Constituency. The Graduates’ and Teachers’ Constituencies are based on the administrative divisions of Maharashtra.

The current chapter will focus primarily on the Aurangabad Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha segments that comprise it. For the other Vidhan Sabhas that fall in the district, please refer to the chapter on Jalna Politics.

The given maps provide an overview of the boundaries of the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district and the Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha constituencies that fall within and around it.

Based on records from the delimitation reports by the Election Commission, the given chart provides an overview of the changes that have occurred in the composition of the Aurangabad Lok Sabha constituency and the reshuffling of the Vidhan Sabha constituencies with every delimitation that has been done.

The current Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district in the Lok Sabha, as of 2024: 

The following are the current Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) representing constituencies in the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district, as of 2024:

Bhagwat Karad was nominated from the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, representing Maharashtra in the Rajya Sabha. 

Sanjay Shirsat (SHS) is the current Guardian Minister for the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district, as of 2024.

The following table lists the current members of the Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad representing the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district through various constituencies, as of 2024:

The following are the key administrative heads of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district, as of 2024:

There are 10 urban local bodies in the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar District: 1 municipal corporation (Mahanagar Palika), 6 municipalities (Nagar Palika), 2 town councils (Nagar Panchayat), and 1 cantonment board. There are 869 Gram Panchayats and 9 Panchayat Samitis.

The Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar District Council was established in 1962 and currently has 62 elected members within it.

The Municipal Council of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar was established in 1936, with a jurisdiction of approximately 54.5 square kilometers. In 1982, it was upgraded to a municipal corporation. The most recent term of the Municipal Corporation, consisting of 115 members, ended in 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, civic body elections were postponed. As a result, the State Government appointed Astik Kumar Pandey, AMC Commissioner, as the Administrator. Since 1993, political control of the corporation has alternated between the BJP and the SHS. Of the 21 mayors elected so far, only three have not been affiliated with either of these two parties.

The Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district has six municipal councils that govern urban settlements falling below the size and population threshold for a municipal corporation. The six municipal councils in the district are Gangapur, Kannad, Khultabad, Paithan, Sillod, and Vaijapur.

Two smaller urban local bodies in the district function as Nagar Panchayats, catering to transitional areas that are evolving from rural to urban status. These are the Phulambri Municipal Council and the Soygaon Nagar Panchayat. These councils manage basic civic needs and development in these semi-urban regions. 

The Aurangabad Cantonment Board is a notified area administered by the Ministry of Defence.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, there were a total of 37 contestants from Aurangabad. Out of these, 11 candidates had criminal cases against them, with seven of the contestants having serious cases registered. The contestant with the highest number of criminal cases registered was an Independent. The elected MP, Sandipanrao Bhumre, has four criminal cases against him.

In the 2019 Vidhan Sabha election, there were a total of 98 contestants from six Vidhan Sabha constituencies of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. Out of which, 32 contestants had criminal cases against them, with 12 of them having serious cases. The candidate with the highest number of criminal cases registered was an Independent. The elected MLAs of Aurangabad Central and East each have six criminal cases registered against them.

In 1998, the first elections were held for the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation. Shantaram Kale, representing INC (I), emerged as the winner through an alliance between the Congress (I), the Muslim League, and the Dalits. However, the Shiv Sena corporators were dissatisfied with the outcome and decided to contest the election results by filing a petition in the high court. On 16 May, the day of the court hearing and a day before Eid, a group affiliated with the SHS began looting and setting parts of the city on fire. The situation escalated further as instances of communal violence increased. The riot resulted in the loss of 26 lives, according to reports. The violence also spread to other areas, such as Paithan, where seven individuals were fatally stabbed. Four days later, in the nearby town of Jalna, two individuals lost their lives when the Shiv Sena attempted to raise their flag near a Masjid.

In February 2023, the city of Aurangabad, which is originally named after the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, was officially renamed Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar by the Maharashtra government. The renaming fulfilled a long-standing demand by several political groups, especially those with pro-Marathi and Hindu nationalist leanings. However, the decision sparked widespread protests and opposition, particularly among sections of the Muslim community and secular civil society groups in the city.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), led by then-Aurangabad MP Imtiaz Jaleel, strongly opposed the renaming. Jaleel publicly questioned the timing and motives behind the decision, accusing both the state and central governments of politicizing the issue rather than addressing pressing local concerns. In March 2023, a candlelight vigil was organized by the Anti-Name Change Action Committee, drawing significant participation, especially from women, and serving as a symbolic expression of dissent.

In response to the protests, the Sakal Hindi Ekatrit Samiti was formed to support the renaming of the city. The committee actively campaigned in favor of the change, sending lakhs of letters to the divisional commissioner to express public support for the decision.