Maharashtra rural election results: BJP makes inroads in MMR, Konkan; verdict sets tone for urban polls

PUNE: Even as BJP emerged as the single largest party in the municipal council and nagar panchayat elections across the state, Congress managed to halt BJP’s juggernaut in several municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Vidarbha.

In Maharashtra’s sugar bowl of western Maharashtra, BJP battled its own Mahayuti alliance partners as Congress and NCP (SP) struggled to retain hold.BJP made inroads in many places in Mumbai and Konkan regions that had traditionally been with Shiv Sena, Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) and the NCP. Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde expanded Shiv Sena’s hold beyond Mumbai Metropolitan Region and emerged as the number two party in these polls.

Fadnavis told reporters on Sunday, “We have won 117 presidents’ posts, and more than 75% posts are with our Mahayuti partners. This is a repeat of the assembly election. Compared to 2017, our elected representatives’ numbers have doubled. At that time, we had 1,602 councillors and this time, we have 3,125 councillors. This is the biggest win in local elections in the last 25 years for any party.” With the landslide win, he has underscored that his party’s presence is no longer limited to urban centres alone and that it has managed to penetrate rural Maharashtra too.

Shinde said, “I am proud of my party workers...The results also show that our party has reached every household even at the micro level and we will continue our performance even in the municipal corporation polls.”North Maharashtra once again backed BJP with maximum seats in Jalgaon district, where minister Girish Mahajan has the last word. BJP’s hope of riding on the clout of senior politicians like former CM Ashok Chavan and the Munde cousins didn’t materialise in Marathwada.In Pune district, deputy CM Ajit Pawar-led NCP retained its dominance by securing the president’s posts in 10 of the 17 local bodies, followed by Shinde-led Shiv Sena with four and the BJP with three.The Mahayuti’s victory, seen as a precursor to the municipal corporation elections slated for Jan 15, is especially important for two reasons. The polls were held against the backdrop of devastating floods in Maharashtra which ruined kharif crops in most districts and govt was blamed for doing very little to help the farmers.

Secondly, the opposition had time and again alleged that several public works were languishing due to paucity of funds which they said was a fallout of taxpayers’ money being squandered on populist schemes including the Laadki Bahin Yojna.Also, it was the first time polls to all councils and panchayats in Maharashtra were held simultaneously after the Shiv Sena and NCP spilt.Congress state chief Harshwardhan Sapkal accused the state election commission of mismanagement, but state poll commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said the counting process was carried out smoothly across all the 288 councils.