Image: IANS
PUNE/NAGPUR: BJP-led Mahayuti delivered a sweeping verdict after two rounds of the first phase of Maharashtra’s civic elections, winning presidents’ posts in nearly 207 of 288 municipal councils and nagar panchayats, mirroring its assembly election performance just over a year ago. Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was reduced to 44 posts. Results were declared on Sunday after polling on Dec 2 and 20. BJP emerged as biggest gainer with victories in over 117 local bodies, cementing the position of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena secured 53 posts, while Ajit Pawar’s NCP won 37. “We have won 117 presidents’ posts, and more than 75% posts are with our Mahayuti partners. This is a repeat of the assembly election,” Fadnavis said. CM Devendra Fadnavis said, “Compared to 2017, our elected representatives have doubled… This is the biggest win in local elections in the last 25 years for any party.”Final results of the 6,859 councillor seats were not released by the state election commission till the time of going to press. But BJP claimed to have won over 3,000 of these seats.Despite emerging as a distant challenger statewide, Congress checked BJP advances in parts of Vidarbha. Western Maharashtra saw Mahayuti allies battling each other as Congress and NCP (SP) struggled to hold ground. Meanwhile, BJP made gains in Mumbai and Konkan, encroaching into traditional Shiv Sena, PWP and NCP pockets. Shinde expanded Sena’s footprint beyond Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), finishing second across the state.North Maharashtra backed BJP strongly, especially in Jalgaon under minister Girish Mahajan. In Marathwada, expected gains from leaders such as Ashok Chavan and Munde cousins failed to materialise. Congress won just 28 civic bodies statewide. Sharad Pawar-led NCP managed seven, while Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena secured nine.Vidarbha delivered a fractured verdict. Congress halted BJP in several councils from Chandrapur to Buldhana and Ballarpur to Wardha, while BJP retained dominance in Nagpur, Gadchiroli and parts of Bhandara.Ajit Pawar-led NCP won 35 of 41 seats in Baramati region, the same undivided NCP had won in 2017. NCP (SP), led by Sharad Pawar, managed to win only one seat, while BSP and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP) also won a seat each. Three seats went to Independent candidates while BJP failed to open its account.The outcome is seen as a curtain-raiser to municipal corporation polls due Jan 15 and comes amid anger over flood-hit kharif crops and opposition charges that funds were diverted to populist schemes such as Mukhyamantri Mazhi Ladki Bahin Yojana. Polls also marked first statewide civic exercise after Shiv Sena and NCP splits, consolidating Shinde and Ajit Pawar as undisputed leaders of their factions.Biggest beneficiary remains Fadnavis. After BJP’s poor 2024 Lok Sabha showing — nine of 48 seats — and his offer to resign, he led Mahayuti to an assembly landslide of over 230 seats, with BJP winning 132. Opposition allegations of “vote chori” and EVM manipulation resurfaced but lost traction after civic sweep.Analysts blamed MVA for failing to capitalise on farm distress. Former CM Prithviraj Chavan admitted Congress could not raise youth and farmer issues effectively.
