Patna, Dec 22 (IANS) As the ruling Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) registered a resounding victory in the elections to 288 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Maharashtra, Janata Dal (United) on Monday termed the outcome a “remarkable performance”.
Speaking to IANS, JD(U) national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad said the results clearly reflected the growing public confidence in the Mahayuti alliance. “This is a remarkable performance by the Mahayuti alliance. In the Assembly elections as well, under the leadership of Devendra Fadnavis, the Mahayuti had demonstrated a strong presence. This winning momentum is likely to continue in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections too,” he said.
Reacting to the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction) questioning the results of the Maharashtra local body polls, Prasad said such reactions were not unexpected after an electoral defeat.
“There should be no surprise when such statements are made following a loss. However, if they fail to introspect on the reasons why the grassroots support of Shiv Sena, which was built on Balasaheb Thackeray’s legacy and the work done during his tenure, has weakened over time after his demise due to Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership, then it is a missed opportunity to understand the reality,” he added.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, Shiv Sena and the NCP recorded a decisive victory on Sunday, winning 207 posts of municipal presidents, while the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) managed to secure only 44 posts, dealing a significant blow to the alliance.
The outcome reinforced the Mahayuti’s dominance in the state following its success in last year’s Assembly elections. In contrast, the opposition MVA once again failed to regain the trust of voters in urban local bodies.
According to the final results released by the State Election Commission (SEC) late Sunday night, the BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 117 municipal president posts. It was followed by the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, which won 53 posts, and the NCP, which secured 37.
The NCP, a key constituent of the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, contested 80 municipal council president seats and won 37 of them. In Pune district alone, the party bagged 10 out of 17 posts of municipal council and nagar panchayat presidents, district election officials said.
Among the Opposition parties, the Congress won 28 posts, while the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) secured seven, and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena managed to win just nine.
Out of the total 288 seats, polling was held for 286 in two phases on December 2 and December 20, while candidates in two municipal councils were elected unopposed.
Overall, the results underline the Mahayuti alliance’s strong grip over local body politics in Maharashtra, significantly outpacing the MVA in the battle for control of urban local bodies.
–IANS
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