Heavyweights score big in municipal polls

Mumbai: The BJP remained the number one party after the municipal poll results in the state were announced on Thursday. But political heavyweights from all parties were able to secure their seats in the second round of the elections. On Thursday, the results for 14 municipality elections, which were held on Wednesday, were declared.

Of these 14 councils, 10 were from Pune district and four from Latur. Elections were held in the bastions of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, Cabinet minister and BJP leader Sambhaji Nilangekar Patil, minister of state (MoS) and Shiv Sena leader Vijay Shivtare and ex-Cabinet minister Harshavardhan Patil.

All eyes were on Baramati, where chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had made addressed a rally in which he lambasted the Pawar family for alleged corruption and nepotism. Baramati has been the stronghold of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar for quite some time now. His nephew and former DyCM Ajit Pawar looks into the day-to-day politics of the city and assembly, and his panel eventually won 36 out of 39 seats in the high-pitched election.

In Indaur near Baramati, ex-Cabinet minister and Congress leader Harshavardhan Patil’s panel won with a good margin.

Like Baramati, Nilanga from Latur district also witnessed a high-profile election, in which the CM’s confidante and Cabinet minister Sambhaji Nilangekar Patil’s prestige was at stake. His panel won 17 seats out of 23. The minister’s grandfather and ex-CM Shivajirao Nilangekar Patil tried hard to recapture his hold on the city, but couldn’t succeed against his grandson.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said, “The results have shown that we are gaining votes whereas the overall performance of the BJP has gone down due to various reasons”

Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said, “The number of votes we got in 2012 is almost the same as we have managed in 2016. The results are satisfactory.”