BJP wins Panvel civic body poll, Congress bags Bhiwandi

The BJP got absolute majority in Panvel municipal corporation while the Congress emerged the winner in Bhiwandi civic body.
Results of the election to three civic bodies - Panvel, Bhiwandi and Malegaon - held on May 24, were declared today.
In the 78-member Panvel civic body, the BJP won 51, the NCP two, the Congress two and the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) 23 seats.
The RPI and the BJP's bickering ally Shiv Sena could not bag a single seat.
This was the first election to the Panvel City Municipal Corporation (PCMC) which came into existence in October last year.

Welcoming the party's good showing in the polls, state BJP chief Raosaheb Danve said it was "auspicious" that the results came on the day the Narendra Modi government completed three years in office.

Reacting to the BJP's maiden outing in Panvel civic polls, PWP leader Vivek Patil said, "The BJP's win is the victory of money power. Bootleggers and goons got elected in this poll."
The party also alleged that the EVMs were tampered with in Kharghar and Khanda Colony wards.
In the 90-member Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation, the Congress won 47, the BJP 19, the Shiv Sena 12, the Samajwadi Party two and the RPI four seats.

Local front Konark won four while the independents bagged two seats.
In the 84-member Malegaon civic body, the Congress emerged as the largest party, while the NCP was relegated to the second spot.
The Congress won 28 seats, followed by the NCP 20, the Shiv Sena 13, the BJP nine, the JD-S six, and Independents one seat. None of the 27 Muslim candidates fielded by the BJP for this poll has won.
On an average, around 55 per cent voting was reported in the municipal corporation elections in Bhiwandi, Malegaon and Panvel.
In the four nagar panchayat and nagar parishad elections in Chandrapur, Ahmednagar, Latur and Sangli districts on the same day, around 77.9 per cent average polling was recorded.

Altogether 1,251 candidates were in the fray.
The Bhiwandi civic body was ruled by the Congress-led alliance, while the Malegaon body had NCP-AIMIM alliance in power.
The BJP had fielded 189 candidates, the NCP 90, the Congress 152, and the Shiv Sena 144 candidates for the polls to the three civic bodies. As many as 355 independents also tried their luck in the elections.
The AIMIM had fielded nine candidates in Bhiwandi and 37 in Malegaon. While the MNS had put up seven in Bhiwandi and 25 candidates in Panvel.
The Bahujan Samaj Party had 22 nominees, the Janata Dal (United) four and the Janata Dal (Secular) 10 candidates in the three civic bodies.

Of the 18 municipal corporations which completed their five-year term this year, elections to 10 bodies were held in February, while Latur, Parbhani and Chandrapur corporations went to polls last month.