The Mahayuti alliance has secured a decisive victory in Maharashtra's municipal corporation elections. The coalition will now govern 24 out of the 29 civic bodies that went to the polls on Thursday.
BJP Emerges as Dominant Force
The Bharatiya Janata Party has emerged as the single largest party in 21 municipal corporations. This includes major urban centers like Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik, and Nagpur. In many of these corporations, BJP's Mahayuti allies secured the runner-up positions, effectively shutting out the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi from significant influence over governance in these important cities.
Close Contests in Three Cities
Three cities witnessed tighter races where the Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena took the lead. In Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, and Ahilyanagar, these parties edged ahead with BJP following closely in second place.
Opposition Secures Limited Victories
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed to secure control in just five municipal corporations. These include Latur, Malegaon, Parbhani, Vasai-Virar, and Chandrapur.
Congress emerged as the single largest party in both Latur and Chandrapur. In Latur, Congress dislodged BJP by securing 43 of the 70 available seats, leaving BJP a distant second with only 22 seats. In Chandrapur corporation in Vidarbha, Congress secured a narrow victory with 28 of 66 seats compared to BJP's 26.
Notable Opposition Performances
In Parbhani, the Shiv Sena UBT and Congress alliance crossed the halfway mark together, with Sena UBT winning 25 seats and Congress securing 12 out of 65 total seats. BJP managed to win 12 seats in Parbhani, while Shiv Sena failed to open its account.
Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation went to Hitendra Thakur's Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi, which secured 71 of the 115 seats. Despite BJP and Shiv Sena joining hands in this corporation, they could only manage second position with 44 seats.
BJP's poorest performance occurred in Malegaon, where the party secured only two seats. The Indian Secular Largest Assembly of Maharashtra party, floated by former NCP MLA Asif Shaikh, emerged as the single largest party with 35 of 84 seats, followed by AIMIM with 21 seats.
Political Reactions
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated that people voted for the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance because they wanted "honesty and development." He emphasized that the alliance has received a record-breaking mandate in many municipal corporations.
Maharashtra Congress unit chief Harshvardhan Sapkal acknowledged that while the success achieved may not be entirely satisfactory, the party has fought an ideological battle regardless of wins or losses. He noted that Congress may have mayors in five cities with approximately 350 corporators.
Sena UBT spokesman Sushma Andhare commented on the Parbhani results, stating that the city witnessed a battle between money power and people's power, with the latter emerging victorious.
