The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti continued its impressive show in Maharashtra municipal corporation elections, winning 1,372 of the 2,869 seats in the state. This includes a victory in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Asia's richest civic body, where it ended the decades-old dominance of the Thackerays.
As per the State Election Commission data, the BJP won 89 seats while its ally, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, won 29 seats. Shiv Sena (UBT), led by Uddhav Thackeray, was second with 65 seats, while Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) won just six seats. Meanwhile, the Congress won 24 seats.
The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance secured a total of 118 seats and crossed the majority mark of 114 in the 227-member BMC. Even before the majority mark was crossed, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde had asserted that Mumbai will get a mayor from the Mahayuti this time.
"BJP offered a developmental agenda. We put it before the people and they responded positively. We have received a record-breaking mandate in many municipal corporations and it underscores that people want honesty and development. That is why people voted for the BJP," Fadnavis said, while thanking the voters.
Setback for Pawars in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad
Apart from the Thackerays, the Maharashtra municipal corporation elections also saw a reunion of the Pawar family for the polling in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. However, their reunion also failed to stop the BJP juggernaut in the two municipal corporations. In Pune, results for 135 of the 165 seats were declared by the time this story was filed. Of these, BJP has won 96, and the NCP and the NCP (SP) bagged 20 and three seats, respectively.
Similarly, results for 127 of 128 seats in Pimpri-Chinchwad are out. Of these, the BJP won 84, and the NCP bagged 36 seats. Meanwhile, the NCP (SP) failed to even open its account. The Shiv Sena, on the other hand, was a distant third with six seats.
Deputy CM and NCP chief Ajit Pawar has said he accepts the verdict of the people, assuring that his party would "continue to work with greater responsibility, honesty, and renewed vigour to regain the trust of the people."
PM says Maharashtra verdict shows NDA's track record of development
Welcoming the verdict in Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the results have shown the track record of development of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). In an X (formerly Twitter) post, the prime minister further said that the results have shown that people of Maharashtra's bond with the BJP-led alliance has deepened.
"Our track record and vision for development have struck a chord. My gratitude to the people across Maharashtra. This is a vote to add momentum to progress and celebrate the glorious culture the state is associated with," he said.
In another X post, he also thanked the NDA karyakartas and who worked tirelessly among people across Maharashtra, and exposed the lies of the opposition. "They talked about our alliance's track record, highlighted our vision for the coming times and also effectively countered the lies of the Opposition. My best wishes to them," he said.
About Maharashtra municipal corporation elections
The elections to the 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, were held on January 15 and a voter turnout of somewhere between 46 to 50 per cent was recorded, according to the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC).
The elections were held in the following municipal corporations: Mumbai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Solapur, Amravati, Akola, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Ulhasnagar, Thane, Chandrapur, Parbhani, Mira-Bhayandar, Nanded-Waghala, Panvel, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Latur, Malegaon, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Jalgaon, Ahilyanagar, Dhule, Jalna and Ichalkaranji.