Results of 25 zilla parishad elections, which were declared today evening, placed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) as the clear leader followed by the Congress and the Shiv Sena.
NCP, which earlier enjoyed administrative rule in three zilla parishads, has increased the number of parishads under its ambit to seven. Also, it would be able to take administrative charge of another 12-15 zilla parishads in alliance with the Congress.
Results of the Gadchiroli and Vardha zilla parishads are yet to come in, while five results declared today indicating a similar alliance between the Congress and NCP (Congress 2, NPC 1, Shiv Sena 2).
For Vardha the counting would be held on February 23.
For the NCP, that fared abysmally in the February 10 elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the zilla parishad results have come as a shot in the arm.
Ranjit Sinh Mohite Patil, president of the state youth wing of the NCP, said:
