Congress, NCP sweep zilla parishad polls in Maharashtra

BJP, Shiv Sena failed to repeat Lok Sabha performance

The incumbent Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance in Maharashtra swept zilla parishad elections on Sunday even as disagreement between them on seat-sharing in the forthcoming Assembly polls continues.

On Sunday, of the 36 zilla parishads across the state, elections were held in about 26, where the tenure of president and vice president had ended.

“During the last elections, in some of the parishads, Congress and NCP could not fight jointly. As a result, NCP had made certain local arrangements with saffron parties. This time, NCP took the decision to break the local arrangements and therefore, the Congress and NCP together have won these elections. This is a welcome sign which would create a favourable atmosphere for a secular alliance in the state,” Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman Ratnakar Mahajan told Business Standard.

In coastal Raigad district, old-time rivals NCP and Peasants & Workers Party (PWP) joined hands to defeat the Shiv Sena. During the Lok Sabha election, the PWP had severed its ties with the Sena and fielded its own candidate. This had angered the Sena.

However, NCP, which is striving to further consolidate its position in Raigad district, tied up with PWP, indicating that it has further brightened the party's prospects in the Assembly polls.

In sugarcane-rich Ahmednagar, which houses more than 20 sugar units, NCP ditched Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to join hands with the Congress.

In Nashik, which is now emerging as a new realty hub, NCP won election to the posts of president and vice president.

In Satara, Sangli, Solapur and Pune districts, known for their vibrant co-operative sector, NCP single- handedly won both the posts of president and vice president.

In Kolhapur, which is a leading trading centre, Congress candidates won both the posts.

In naxal-infested Gadchiroli, NCP bagged the post of zilla parishad president while Congress won the vice president's post.

In Buldhana, notorious for farmers’ suicides, Congress candidates won the president's post while the NCP nominee bagged the vice president's post.

In cotton-rich Yavatmal, NCP and Congress won both the posts. NCP broke its ties with saffron parties here.

In Nanded and Latur, both traditional Congress party bastions, the Shiv Sena-BJP combine was defeated by the Congress-NCP alliance. Similarly, in the adjoining Parbhani district, NCP candidates won with flying colours. In Aurangabad, where Shiv Sena has made sufficient in-roads, Congress and NCP won both the posts.

However, in Ratnagiri district, Shiv Sena-BJP retained its supremacy. Also, in Jalgaon, which is a major banana-producing are, saffron parties defeated the Congress-NCP.