3 minutes of readingBombayFebruary 10, 2026 09:02 am
The Zilla Parishad election results show that Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s strategy of going all out in rural Maharashtra has borne fruit, with his Shiv Sena party gaining ground over Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena UBT.
Results from 12 constituencies, where 731 seats were at stake, show that Shinde Sena won 162 of the 387 seats it contested, a strike rate of around 42 per cent. In comparison, the BJP won 225 of the 502 seats it contested, a strike rate of 44.82 per cent. The Sena UBT, however, has been limited to 43 seats in these constituencies.
The figures are significant for another reason. In the 2017 Zilla Parishad elections, the undivided Shiv Sena had won 148 seats in these constituencies. With 162 seats this time, Shinde’s Sena has surpassed that benchmark.
In Panchayat Samiti too, the party managed to win 302 seats and Sena (UBT) managed to win only 89.
Konkan, once considered the rural stronghold of the Sena after Bombayhas given the clearest signal. In Ratnagiri, the Shinde Sena won 41 of 56 seats, achieving an absolute majority. Congress and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) failed to open their account there. The Sena UBT won only five seats.
In Raigad, the Sena emerged as the largest party, winning 23 seats, with leaders like minister Bharat Gogawale and MPs Mahendra Dalvi and Mahendra Thorve consolidating its influence. In Raigad, Sena UBT won only four seats.
In Sindhudurg, the Sena-BJP alliance secured control, with the BJP winning 27 seats and the Sena 13, with the help of a campaign coordinated by Deepak Kesarkar, Nilesh Rane, Narayan Rane and Nitesh Rane. Here Uddhav’s party won only three seats.
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These districts were instrumental to the rural expansion of the undivided Seine in the 1990s.
In parts of western Maharashtra and Marathwada, the Sena has not dominated in the way it NCP once did itbut it has ensured a visible presence.
In Sangli’s Khanapur taluka, the party won all four Zilla Parishad seats and eight Panchayat Samiti seats, with MLA Suhas Babar credited with the sweep.
In Satara, minister Shambhuraj Desai maintained influence to his credit. In Kolhapur and Latur, where the Sena contested as part of the Mahayuti along with the BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, the alliance won a majority.
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A senior Sena official said Shinde had held more than 20 rallies. While Shinde personally led the campaign in Konkan, western Maharashtra and Marathwada, Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray relied heavily on district-level leadership.
“Outside Mumbai, the organizational space that was once associated with the undivided Shiv Sena is now largely with us and will be reflected in the upcoming elections too,” a Sena official said.
