BJP’s loss is Congress, Shiv Sena’s gain in Maharashtra civic polls
Despite enrolling 1.25 crore members into the party last year, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) put up a poor show in the by-elections to municipal corporations, municipal councils, zilla parishads, nagar panchayats and panchayat samiti on Monday. On the contrary, the Congress won 107 seats out of the 289 seats in the nagar panchayats. The Congress secured absolute majority in seven of the nagar panchayat seats. Besides the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) managed to win 58 seats, Sena 55 and BJP only 24 seats.
The election for the nagar panchayat and municipal council was held in Ratnagiri, Raigad, Jalgaon, Nandurbar, Ahmednagar, Nashik, Nanded, Latur, Osmanabad, Hingoli, Washim, Wardha, Bhandara and Chandrapur districts. However, the by-election was also held in wards at Pimpri-Chinchwad, Ahmednagar, Navi Mumbai and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Ahead of the BMC polls, Sena candidate Anil Patankar won the by-election to ward number 147 (Chembur Ghatla) defeating his closest Congress rival Rajendra Nagrale by a margin of 6,627 votes. Mr Patankar managed to poll 11,517 votes, while Mr Nagrale polled 4,890 votes.
However, Sena rebel Nagesh Tawate polling 4,317 votes has raised eyebrows. Elsewhere in the state, the NCP won three seats in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Navi Mumbai and a seat in Ahmednagar. Sena also won the other seat in Ahmednagar Municipal Corporation.
Reacting to the civic poll verdict, NCP leader of opposition in the Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde said that the people had clearly rejected the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena government and had given their verdict against the “anti-people policies of the government”.
Mr Munde said that the elections were held in the drought-prone regions of the state in Nanded, Osmanabad and Hingoli where the people, fed up with the government’s inaction, had expressed their anger against the government through the ballot.
Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Commitee president Ashok Chavan congratulated the newly elected members and commented that Congress had proved that the party is number one in local body elections.
