The results of the first two phases of Municipal Council and Nagar Panchayat elections in Maharashtra once again proved the strength of the ruling Mahayuti alliance. Out of a total of 288 civic bodies, Mahayuti won about 207 municipal posts, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was limited to only 44 posts. BJP established the status of single largest party by securing the post of Municipal President in more than 117 civic bodies. Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena won 53 posts and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party won 37 posts.
The results of Maharashtra’s local body elections have highlighted the importance of the power of democracy, the role of the voter and political strategies. At some places a single vote decided the victory and defeat, at other places the people completely rejected familyism. Let us look at some of the interesting aspects of this election…
Win or lose by just one vote
BJP candidate Pramila Panchal was elected Municipal Councilor in Mukhed Municipal Council of Nanded district by just one vote. Panchal got 779 votes, while the AIMIM candidate was just one vote behind. After the defeat, AIMIM demanded recounting, but the result remained the same.
Pramila Panchal said after her close victory, ‘I have understood the importance of one vote. Now I know the meaning of Dr. BR Ambedkar’s ‘One Man, One Vote, One Value’. This victory is symbolic for BJP, which shows how valuable every vote is.
6 candidates from the same family, all were defeated
BJP has achieved a landslide victory in this civic election. The party got a landslide victory at many places, but faced a shameful defeat in the Lohe Municipal Council elections in Nanded district. Here BJP fielded six members of the same family, but the public rejected all of them.
The losers include presidential candidate Gajanan Suryavanshi, his wife Godavari, brother Sachin, sister-in-law Supriya, brother-in-law Yuvraj Waghmare and his nephew’s wife Reena. In this election, NCP won the post of President and captured a total of 17 seats. This result clearly indicates that even in local politics, voters are no longer in a mood to accept dynasticism.
BJP’s flag in Kamathi after 40 years
BJP created history in Kamthi Municipal Council of Nagpur district. For the first time in 40 years, the post of Municipal President came to BJP’s account. Party candidate Ajay Aggarwal defeated Congress’s Shakur Nagani by just 103 votes.
However, after the defeat, the Congress candidate raised questions on the results and alleged that despite maintaining the lead throughout the day, the reversal of results in the last round is suspicious. It is noteworthy that Kamathi remained in the news during the entire election campaign due to allegations and counter-allegations and sharp statements.
Former MLC Sulekha Kumbhare had fielded a candidate from her organization Bahujan Republican Ekta Manch (BREM) on this seat and expected support from BJP. However, BJP refused any alliance and fielded its own candidate and ultimately won.
Clean sweep in the first phase of Mahayuti
In the first phase of Municipal Council and Nagar Panchayat elections held across the state, the BJP-led Mahayuti dominated by winning around 207 out of 288 presidential posts. In comparison, Mahavikas Aghadi had to be satisfied with only 44 posts.
BJP alone won 117 local bodies, while Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena got 53 and Ajit Pawar’s NCP got 37 chairperson posts. Voting took place on 2 and 20 December.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis called it a reaffirmation of public confidence after the assembly elections. He said, ‘We have won 117 presidential posts and more than 75 percent of the bodies are with Mahayuti. This is a repetition of the results of the assembly elections.
