Crosses 200-seat mark, staying well ahead of MVA, which won only around 50
BJP party workers watch the announcement of results of the Nagar Parishad and Nagar Panchayat Elections at the BJP office on Sunday. PIC/ASHISH RAJE
Following the Mahayuti alliance’s clean sweep win (or we can say lead, since official results are not announced) over 213 out of the 288 municipal councils (at the time of going to press), attention has now shifted to the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections and polls in 29 other municipal corporations, seen as the next big test of political strength.
Voting for the 227 BMC wards will be held on January 15, with counting scheduled the following day. For the past 25 years, the undivided Shiv Sena (now UBT Sena) has ruled the BMC. Now, former ally turned rival BJP, and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena are leaving no stone unturned to wrest control of Mumbai’s prestigious civic body from Uddhav Thackeray. Cousins, Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, are likely to join hands to prevent the BMC from slipping into the hands of the Mahayuti alliance.
Speaking to the media after the municipal council results, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated that the results are an endorsement of the development work done by the party. “During the campaign, the focus was completely on development. While asking for votes and support, no personal comments or attacks were made. The results have once again endorsed that the BJP is the Number 1 party in the state,” the CM said, reacting to the results.
Sanjay Raut, Sena UBT leader
On Sunday, the BJP emerged on top by winning over 120 seats, followed by the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena with around 58 seats and Ajit Pawar-headed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with about 37. Seen as a mini Assembly verdict, the results show that the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance (comprising Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s (NCP), crossed the 200 seat mark, staying well ahead of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP, which managed to win only around 50 seats.
Fadnavis further stated that the BJP alone has won a record number of corporator seats, showing massive public backing. “I congratulate our allies for their strong performance and BJP state president Ravindra Chavan, and party workers for their hard work,” he added. However, the local poll verdict came as a setback to many, including for BJP Minister Nitesh Rane. Besides Nitesh, the BJP witnessed a setback in its stronghold Chandrapur (in Vidarbha), where the Congress dominated the polls.
Sena UBT managed to win nine seats, Sharad Pawar’s NCP bagged 10, and Congress won 31 seats in the municipal council polls. Shinde, too, claimed that his party emerged as a winner. “Our party’s strike rate was much better than any other political party,” Shinde remarked. The deputy chief minister’s statement is seen as a sarcastic and veiled reference to the BJP’s claim of dominating Maharashtra’s politics.
After municipal councils, next on the card is the big and prestigious fight for BMC, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Kalyan-Dombivali, along with 25 other municipal corporations. For nearly 25 years, the Shiv Sena (undivided) and the BJP ruled the BMC together, but their alliance ended in 2017. In the last civic polls, Shiv Sena won 84 seats, BJP 82, MNS 7 (six later joined Uddhav Thackeray’s party), Congress 31, NCP (undivided) 9, and others 14.
Reacting to the council poll verdict, Sena UBT leader and Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut said, “The numbers are almost similar (read as 2024 Assembly poll result). Machines (read as EVM) were set in such a manner that council results matched those numbers.”
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