The Mahayuti, led by the BJP, achieved on Monday a decisive mandate in Maharashtra by winning at least 550 of the 731 Zilla Parishad seats and 1,067 of the 1,462 Panchayat Samiti seats in the 12 Zilla Parishad and 125 Panchayat Samiti elections. In stark contrast, all three Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) parties fared poorly.
The State Election Commission has not yet released the final figures.
Of the 550 Zilla Parishad seats won by the Mahayuti till Monday night, the BJP demonstrated its supremacy by winning 225 seats, followed by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with 165 seats and the Shiv Sena with 162.
Among the opposition MVA, the Congress won 55 Zilla Parishad seats, followed by the Shiv Sena (UBT) with 43 seats and the NCP (SP) with 26. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) won one seat each in Latur and Ratnagiri.
In the Panchayat Samiti polls, the BJP won 459 seats, followed by the NCP with 306 and the Shiv Sena with 302. The Congress won 97 seats, the Shiv Sena (UBT) 89 and the NCP (SP) 46.
Be it western Maharashtra, Konkan or Marathwada, the BJP has excelled in all districts, and its allies NCP and Sena have also performed well. On the contrary, none of the MVA parties gave the slightest appearance of fighting, suffering heavy defeats in all districts.
After the death of Ajit Pawar, all eyes were on the NCP to see if it would benefit from sympathy votes, and the party gave its best: it returned to power in Pune Zilla Parishad, and is doing better than its alliance partners and the Congress in Kolhapur.
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NCP returns to power in Pune Zilla Parishad
The NCP once again bagged the Pune Zilla Parishad, continuing its two-decade rule, while securing 78 of the 146 Panchayat Samitis seats. The Pune Zilla Parishad is the only one in western Maharashtra where the party has been winning for 20 years.
The NCP had joined hands with the NCP (SP) in the Pune district, and the candidates were vying for the ‘clock’ symbol. The BJP finished a poor second, with just 10 seats. NCP sources said the merger benefited them as there was no division of votes.
“We won decisively in Pune district and Baramati thanks to the winning strategy implemented by late Ajitdada Pawar. From the beginning, we were confident that we would win as he had meticulously implemented the plan. It is sad that he is not around to see his efforts bear fruit,” NCP Pune district president Sambhaji Holkar said.
Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash in Baramati on January 28. “The results have strengthened the NCP’s resolve to carry on the legacy of Ajit Pawar and serve the people with greater responsibility and honesty,” Holkar added.
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NCP also shines in Kolhapur
The NCP also emerged as the largest party in the Kolhapur Zilla Parishad elections. In 2017, the BJP was in power here for the first two and a half years, followed by the Congress for the same period.
In the last election, the BJP-led Mahayuti, with five parties in its fold, collectively won 51 seats. While the BJP, which won 17 seats in 2017, managed only 12, the Shiv Sena won nine seats. The PCN emerged as the largest party, with 20 seats. The Jan Surajya Shakti, also part of the Mahayuti, won five seats. “Our victories in the local self-government body elections are a tribute to the work and tireless efforts of Ajit Pawar,” NCP state president Sunil Tatkare said.
The Congress won 15 seats. “The monetary power of the Mahayutis has won. They tried their best to win the elections through their monetary power,” Congress MLC Satej Patil told The indian express. Patil said that even though the Mahayutis tried their best to win, the Congress stood firm. “The people of Kolhapur have full faith in the Congress’s ability to deliver, and that is why they have always supported us in every election,” he said.
Sharad Pawar’s NCP springs a surprise in Sangli
In 2017, the BJP was in power in the Sangli Zilla Parishad, but this time it managed to bag only 16 of the 61 seats. The PCN (SP) surprised with 18 seats, while the PCN won six. Although both PNC groups were tied for the elections, party sources said they fought together in some places and against each other in others. Since 31 seats are needed to form the board, a PNC leader noted that if the Congress, which won 11 seats, comes together, the two factions of the PNC could come to power.
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In Satara, the BJP grows
In Satara, the undivided NCP was in power in 2017. This time, the BJP emerged as the largest party, with 26 seats, while the NCP won 22 and the Shiv Sena 15. While the Congress won just one seat, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (SP) drew a blank.
In Sambhaji Nagar, BJP-Sena steals the show
In Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar in the Marathwada region, the Shiv Sena was in power in 2017. This time, the BJP and the Shiv Sena signed a pre-poll alliance that bore fruit. The BJP won 23 of the 63 seats, closely followed by the Shiv Sena with 21 seats. Among the opposition, the Shiv Sena (UBT) won nine seats, the NCP four, and the Congress (it had won 16 seats in 2017) only won a solitary seat.
Congress rises in Latur; BJP on the defensive
In 2017, the BJP was in power in Latur Zilla Parishad. This time, Congress emerged as the largest party with 23 seats. On the other hand, the BJP won 18, the NCP 12, and the MNS, the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Shiv Sena and the NCP (SP) one each. Both the BJP and the NCP have the numbers to claim the right, an NCP leader said. “Apart from Amit Deshmukh, no other Congress leader campaigned here. Otherwise, the result would have been different,” said a Congress leader.
BJP to finally rule Solapur
In Solapur, the BJP came to power winning 38 of the 60 seats, a huge improvement from 2017 when it had won only 14. “Money and muscle power dominated the Solapur local self-government body polls. Imagine when an EVM is found in a local dhaba, what kind of election did we have?” NCP district chief Umesh Patil said.
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In Parbhani too, the BJP emerged as the largest party with 24 seats, while the NCP won 15 seats and Shiv Sena five. The MVA parties finished with nine seats.
People have reposed trust in BJP: Fadnavis
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnaviswho did not campaign after the death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, said: “Going by the results and trends available so far, the people of Maharashtra have regained trust in the Mahayutis. In all the 12 Zilla Parishads, the BJP has emerged as the leading party, and the Mahayutis will be in power in each of them.”
He pointed out that the BJP was the leading party in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Sindhudurg, Dharashiv, Parbhani and Satara, while the BJP was the leading party in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Sindhudurg, Dharashiv, Parbhani and Satara. Eknath ShindeThe Shiv Sena-led party won more seats than any other party in Ratnagiri and Raigad. The NCP dominated Pune district, and in Kolhapur and Latur, Mahayuti’s three partners contested together and won, Fadnavis added.
“The BJP has broken its own record in the 2017 Zilla Parishad elections. In 2017, the BJP had won 141 seats. But in these elections, the BJP has so far won more seats,” he added.
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On the Panchayat Samiti elections, Fadnavis said, “In the 2017 elections, the BJP won 284 seats. In these elections we will win almost twice as many.”
A positive mandate: Congress
Reacting to the Congress’s performance, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Harshavardhan Sapkal said, “The Congress contested the local self-government elections across the state independently to broaden its ideology and organizational base. In some places, alliances or fronts were formed at the local level after assessing the political situation. Since these elections belong to the grassroots workers, they must be given maximum opportunities, which is not possible when alliances are formed. The people have given a positive mandate to the decision of Congress ideology in these elections.”