16 January,2026 05:15 PM IST | Latur | mid-day online correspondent
Voting for the Latur Municipal Corporation took place on Thursday, and counting was completed by Friday afternoon. File Pic
The Congress won the elections to the Latur Municipal Corporation (LMC) in central Maharashtra on Friday, securing a clear majority in the 70-member civic body, the PTI reported.
The results were declared on Friday as counting continued for elections held across 29 civic bodies in the state.
The Maharashtra civic poll results are scheduled to be announced later in the day.
The party won 43 seats, comfortably crossing the majority mark, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) finished a distant second with 22 seats.
According to election officials, the Congress emerged as the largest party with 43 seats. The BJP won 22 seats, the Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi secured four seats, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) managed to win one seat.
Local political observers believe that controversial remarks made by Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan played a key role in consolidating votes in favour of the Congress.
During a campaign rally, Chavan said that memories of late Congress leader and former Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh would be "wiped out" from his hometown Latur. Deshmukh, a two-time Chief Minister, was a highly respected leader from the Marathwada region.
The comments sparked widespread criticism from citizens and political parties across Maharashtra. Chavan later issued an apology for his remarks.
Out of the five mayors the corporation has had since its formation in 2011, four contested the elections this time. Two of them emerged victorious.
Smita Khanapure, the Congress's first mayor in Latur, faced defeat in Ward No. 15. She lost to BJP spokesperson Prerana Honrao.
Former Congress mayor Vikrant Gojamgunde, who joined the NCP ahead of the civic polls, won from Ward No. 5 with a margin of 4,729 votes.
Another former Congress mayor, Deepak Sul, retained his political influence by winning Ward No. 10 with 5,451 votes.
Former BJP mayor Suresh Pawar, who contested on a Shiv Sena ticket from Ward No. 6, was defeated by the BJP candidate.
In the previous LMC elections held in 2017, the BJP had emerged as the largest party with 36 seats, while the Congress followed closely with 33 seats. The latest results mark a major turnaround for the Congress in Latur.
(with PTI inputs)
