Voting for the 55 Zilla Parishad seats in Maharashtra's Dharashiv district (formerly Osmanabad) wrapped up on Monday, with the BJP emerging as the largest party by winning 19 seats. As many as 234 candidates were in fray for this complex electoral battle.
Here's party-wise seat share (55 ZP seats)
BJP- 19
Congress- 3
NCP- 6
Shiv Sena- 15
Shiv Sena(UBT)- 7
Others/Independents- 5
Maharashtra local body polls
Voting for rural local body elections in Maharashtra was held on February 7, with more than 67 per cent of voters casting their ballots across the state. The polls were conducted shortly after the completion of elections to municipal corporations and municipal councils.
The elections were earlier planned for February 5, and counting was expected two days later. However, the schedule was changed after the sudden death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash, leading to a brief postponement of the process.
Polling took place in 12 districts across three administrative divisions—Konkan, Pune and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The districts where voting was held included Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani, Dharashiv and Latur.
About Dharashiv district
Among these, Dharashiv district, earlier known as Osmanabad, has drawn particular attention. Located in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division, the district has 55 seats in the Zilla Parishad. It also has 110 seats across eight Panchayat Samitis—Paranda, Bhoom, Vashi, Kalamb, Dharashiv, Tuljapur, Lohara and Umerga.
What happened in Dharashiv in 2017?
In the last local body elections held in 2017, Dharashiv recorded a voter turnout of 65.19 per cent. At that time, the undivided Nationalist Congress Party contested the polls in alliance with the Congress and the Peasants and Workers Party of India.
That alliance performed strongly in the Panchayat Samiti elections, winning a total of 81 seats. Of these, the NCP secured 52 seats, while the Congress won 29. The BJP–Shiv Sena alliance won 29 seats, with 11 going to the BJP and 18 to the Shiv Sena.
In the Zilla Parishad elections, the Congress–NCP alliance won 39 seats. The BJP–Shiv Sena combine managed to secure 15 seats, while independent candidates won only one.
The political landscape in the district has changed considerably since 2017, following major splits within both the Shiv Sena and the NCP.
