BJP scores record local body poll win, says Fadnavis; Oppn cries foul

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the BJP has set a record in local body polls with 48 per cent of councillors winning on the party symbol, and its candidates elected as presidents in 129 municipal councils.

He attributed the Mahayuti alliance's success in the municipal council and nagar panchayat elections to the BJP organisation and development agenda of the government.

Counting of votes for elections to the posts of president and members in 286 municipal councils and nagar panchayats held in two phases began in the morning.

Fadnavis said the BJP has once again emerged as the single largest party.

 

"48 per cent councillors have been elected on the BJP symbol, which is a record. The BJP has created another record with 3,300 councillors being elected from the party.

"BJP candidates have been elected as presidents in 129 municipal councils. In 75 per cent of the local bodies, Mahayuti nominees have been elected as municipal presidents," he said.

Fadnavis emphasised that the BJP's national leadership has put faith in the state leadership for elections.

"It is the team effort - the organisation and government. We fought the polls on the development plank. I led a positive campaign on the development agenda. I never criticised any political leader or party. I solicited votes on the development agenda, the work done by the government so far, and our blueprint for the future," the chief minister told a press conference.

In the multi-dimensional contests, Mahayuti allies- the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's NCP- contested against each other in some places. There were alliances as well as "friendly fights" among Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents- the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP), and Congress.

The opposition Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) virtually conceded defeat in the elections, accusing the election commission of "facilitating" the victory of the ruling Mahayuti.

State Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal congratulated the party candidates who won the posts of municipal president and councillors.

In a terse comment, he "congratulated" the state poll body for "helping" the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the elections.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut attributed the victory of Mahayuti to "tampering" of EVMs. He said the opposition couldn't withstand a "hailstorm" of money.

His party colleague Ambadas Danve alleged "money and muscle power" shaped the Mahayuti win.

"The Mahayuti has bagged a larger number of seats as compared to constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, thanks to the muscle and money power deployed by the ruling parties," Danve told PTI in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan claimed the party had got a decisive mandate as voters had rejected the Opposition's "fake narrative".

He claimed the Mahayuti had won more than 250 councils, nagar parishads and nagar panchayats out of 288, with BJP candidates securing 134 out of 236 council chief posts and over 3,000 councillor seats.

"The Opposition levelled all kinds of allegations during the campaign, but people saw through them. Uddhav Thackeray himself said he had nothing to offer to the people and that is why his party was rejected. His party could not even win council chairperson posts in double digits," Chavan claimed.

"Now, Mumbaikars too would reject the opposition's narrative in the upcoming BMC polls," he said.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said the "overwhelming success" of the BJP was a "victory of the (party) workers.

"This is a victory of our workers. Thank you to the people who supported the BJP by maintaining faith in its development-oriented working style," the Union minister stated.

Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule claimed the Mahayuti is headed to secure two-thirds seats.

"The Mahayuti has taken a very good lead in Maharashtra and the people have rejected the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP)," he added.

State minister Shivendrasinh Bhosale claimed BJP candidate Amol Mohite was elected municipal president in Satara district by 42,000 votes, an outcome that even surpassed the vote margins typically seen in assembly elections.

Minister of state for home Yogesh Kadam claimed the Mahayuti had registered a clean sweep in Khed municipal council in Ratnagiri district by winning all 21 seats, including 17 seats won by Shiv Sena.

The BJP has won the president's post in four out of five local bodies in Udgir, Ahmedpur, Nilanga, and Renapur in Latur district, while its ally NCP bagged the seat in Ausa.

In the Beed district, the Mahayuti combine has taken a decisive lead.

"People have demolished the plot of the Opposition to defame Parli and Beed through the results of the local body polls," former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde claimed.

The Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) claimed they had retained their party bastions in Chandrapur and Sangli districts.

The Congress won the municipal council president's post as well as 21 of the 23 seats in the Brahmapuri municipal council in Chandrapur district, party leader Vijay Wadettiwar said. The BJP and NCP have secured one seat each.

In the Urun-Ishwarpur municipal council in Sangli district, the NCP (SP) has won 23 seats as well as the post of council president, senior leader Jayant Patil claimed.

In Palghar district, the Shiv Sena has won the president's election in the municipal councils of Palghar and Dahanu, while the BJP bagged the president's posts in Jawhar municipal council and Wada Nagar Panchayat.

Recounting of votes was ordered after the Congress objected to the 116-vote win of BJP candidate Ajay Agrawal in Kamptee municipal council polls in Nagpur district, an official said.

In a setback for the BJP, the party candidate for the post of Loha municipal council president, Gajanan Suryavanshi, and his five kin lost.

The post was won by Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party, whose candidate, incidentally, is named Sharad Pawar.

The NCP emerged victorious in Loha, Kandhar, Degloor and Umri, while the BJP won in Kundalwadi, Mudkhed and Bhokar in Nanded district.

The Shiv Sena and Marathwada Janhit Party won from two places each, while the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress emerged victorious from one place each, officials said.

Only the NCP (SP) led by opposition stalwart Sharad Pawar failed to capture any of the municipal councils that went to polls in the district, they added.