Maharashtra Local Body Polls: Mahayuti Registers Overwhelming Mandate; Congress Questions Free And Fair Elections

Maharashtra Local Body Polls: As the results for Maharashtra local body elections were declared on Sunday, the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, NCP, and Shiv Sena, established a sweeping victory. Held after a gap of nearly a decade, the local body elections were closely watched.

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Maharashtra Local Body Polls: Top Points

1- Final Tally

The Mahayuti alliance swept the elections to 288 municipal councils and nagar panchayats and won 207 posts of presidents in the local bodies. Meanwhile, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) remained at a collective tally of 44.

Meanwhile, according to the State Election Commission (SEC), the BJP won 117 posts of municipal presidents, Shiv Sena won 53, and the NCP won 37 posts. The Congress bagged 28, the NCP (SP) seven, and Shiv Sena (UBT) nine.

With 117 posts, the BJP reportedly emerged as the single largest party in the elections. 

“Truly grateful to the people of Maharashtra for blessing an overwhelming mandate to BJP and MahaYuti in the Municipal Council and Nagar Panchayat elections,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis posted on X. 

2- MVA’s Charge Against ECI

IANS reported that the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Harshwardhan Sapkal on Sunday alleged that the victory of the ruling Mahayuti allies was made possible only through the “blessings” and support of the Election Commission (EC).

Highlighting what he termed as the “shambolic administration” of the EC, Sapkal told reporters that the elections were far from “free and fair”, claiming that the ruling Mahayuti coalition employed a strategy of “Sama, Dana, Danda, Bheda” (persuasion, compensation, punishment, and division) to secure their win.

3- To be CM Eknaths of Shire

As the Mahayuti alliance swept the local body elections by winning over 200 seats across the state, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde celebrated the win, highlighting that his party, the Shiv Sena, had secured 50 seats. 

ANI quoted him as saying, “The BJP scored a century, and the Shiv Sena scored a half-century. Some people said the Shiv Sena was limited to Thane, but now it has spread from Chandrapur to Bandra (all over Maharashtra). My gratitude to all our elected representatives, ministers, and MLAs. Thank you to my dear sisters and brothers, and congratulations to all the party workers. I also congratulate Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis; the BJP has also achieved great success.”

He said that the results have shown that the court of public opinion tells who the actual Shiv Sena belongs to.

4- Pune’s Results

In Pune district, around 17 local bodies went to polls, with the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) securing 10 president’s positions, Shiv Sena secured 4 posts, and BJP 3.

5- The Campaigning

According to IANS, with the backdrop of an agrarian crisis in several parts of Maharashtra, partial disbursal of benefits under the government’s flagship welfare scheme for women, and farmers’ complaints over inadequate financial assistance, the opposition was expected to mount a stiff challenge. However, the campaign period reflected a visible lack of intent and coordination among the opposition parties.

Congress leaders campaigned aggressively in Vidarbha and Marathwada, but leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT) were largely absent on the ground, while NCP (SP) leaders remained confined to their respective constituencies.

The run-up to the polls was also marked by internal frictions within the Mahayuti, with alliance partners contesting against each other in several regions.

Notably, the Maharashtra local body trends come nearly a year after the Mahayuti secured a thumping victory in the 2024 Assembly elections. 

Experts view the outcome of these local body elections as politically significant, especially with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls fast approaching.

(with agencies’ inputs)