BJP gains big in Maharashtra civic body polls, but Congress still alive and kicking

BJP won 254 seats while Congress came second by winning 239 seats

In the elections for 59 municipal council/nagar panchayat, which coincided with the first anniversary of the Maharashtra government, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has emerged on top by winning 254 seats, while the Congress came second winning 239 seats. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was third with 201 seats, while the urban-centric Shiv Sena came in at the fourth position with 126 seats.

The BJP, which had won a record 122 seats in the Assembly elections held last year, consolidated its position as a pan-Maharashtra party. While the selection of candidates and ticket distribution were left to the local party units, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s efforts to play up the development agenda seems to have paid off. (POLL WATCH)
 

However, the BJP received a drubbing in Nagpur, which is the home district of Fadnavis and Union roads minister Nitin Gadkari. In Beed district, NCP staged a come back under the leadership of Dhananjay Munde, the cousin of minister for women and child welfare Pankaja Munde.

State unit president Raosaheb Danve Jalna faced a humiliating defeat in his home district at the hands of NCP’s former minister Rajesh Tope.

Meanwhile the Congress, which bagged 239 seats, has partially re-established its hold on parts of its erstwhile bastions Vidarbha and Marathwada regions.

According to Maharashtra Congress chief and former chief minister Ashok Chavan, the ‘Modi wave’ has receded and the BJP government’s lacklustre performance in the state helped the Congress revive.

The NCP, which won 201 seats, is passing through a rough patch following number of inquiries against its former ministers. Sources say its performance is thanks to the organisational changes made under the direct supervision of party president Sharad Pawar.

Ironically, the urban-centric Shiv Sena came in fourth with only 126 seats. The Sena, which had won 63 Assembly seats, was unable to increase its presence in nagar panchayat. The party’s entire focus was on the prestige battle for Kalyan Dombivli and Kolhapur civic bodies.

The Sena emerged the single-largest party in Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation, while it had to satisfy with four seats in Kolhapur.

All the four parties had gone solo where a record 156 independents won. In some nagar panchayats, independents will decide who will rule.

Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, which had surprised its rivals by winning two Assembly seats last year, opened its account in Latur district.