Maharashtra civic poll results: After leading campaign, Devendra Fadnavis shares credit; Mahayuti to get most mayors

MUMBAI: Refusing to take credit for the BJP's performance in the municipal elections despite being the prime strategist, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis attributed the win to party cadres and the BJP’s development agenda.

In his victory speech at the BJP headquarters in Mumbai, Fadnavis stressed on the importance of the Mahayuti alliance as much as the party’s objectives and added that the mayor in 25 of 29 civic bodies would be a Mahayuti nominee."Development and Hindutva are inseparable for the party. Hindutva is our soul, and it took us to the people. Our Hindutva cannot be differentiated from development," he added.

"People have given (us) a record-breaking mandate in municipal corporations.

One thing the election made clear is that people's faith is in PM Narendra Modi," he said. "The issues on which we fought this election have been accepted by the people."The results, coming a year after Fadnavis took office as CM, are a big boost for him. He oversaw the party's planning and strategy for these elections, preferring to focus on issues such as infrastructure, investment and innovation in a bid to appeal to the urban voter.

Senior leaders Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Ravindra Chavan, Ashish Shelar, Girish Mahajan were given specific tasks in various regions. No senior leader from the Centre campaigned; no CM from other states was called in to help woo specific communities. Despite a huge presence of voters from Uttar Pradesh, CM Yogi Adityanath was not asked to address meetings.Fadnavis campaigned extensively. He held 37 public rallies and road shows, including 7 in Mumbai.

In the midst of the campaign, he went to TV studios and newspaper offices for interviews.When a controversy was sought to be created over former TN BJP chief K Annamalai’s statement that Mumbai was not just a part of Maharashtra but an international city, Fadnavis sought to explain the context behind his colleague’s remarks, emphasising at the same time that no one could separate Mumbai from Maharashtra.In his speeches, Fadnavis concentrated on development and infrastructure projects that he, as CM, pushed through.

While party colleagues hyped the Bangladeshi/Rohingya issue, Fadnavis steered clear of it. At the last public rally at Shivaji Park, Dadar, Fadnavis came out all guns blazing against the Thackerays for their “anti-investment and anti-industry” stance, reeling out measures his party took for the Marathi Manoos in Mumbai. In his speech on Friday, Fadnavis told party workers, "When we get such a huge mandate, we need to behave responsibly. All elected representatives must conduct work transparently and ensure people's trust in PM Narendra Modi is not misplaced.

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