The Parbhani Zilla Parishad elections delivered a significant shift in local politics as the NCP's dominance was challenged by the Bharatiya Janata Party. Out of a total 54 seats, BJP led on 24 while NCP of Ajit Pawar faction followed closely on 15 seats. Shiv Sena of Uddhav Thackeray led only on six seats while the other major parties didn't have much of a say in the results.
Here's the breakdown:
BJP: 24
NCP (Ajit Pawar): 15
Shiv Sena (UBT): 6
Shiv Sena (Shinde): 5
Congress: 3
NCP (Sharad Pawar): 0
Independents and others: 1
The biggest headline of the day is the "rejection of nepotism" in Parbhani. Former Minister Suresh Warpudkar (BJP/Congress background) suffered a massive personal defeat. He had fielded five family members; four of them lost, including his son (Samsher Warpudkar), daughter (Sonal Deshmukh), and daughter-in-law (Prerna Warpudkar). Only his nephew, Ajit Warpudkar, managed to secure a win in Lohgaon.
Under the leadership of Guardian Minister Meghana Bordikar, the BJP expanded its footprint significantly, especially in the Jintur and Selu belts. The party is now in a pole position to appoint the Zilla Parishad President, likely in alliance with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Who were the biggest margin winners?
Shrikant Bhosale-Vitekar (brother of NCP MLA Rajesh Vitekar) won with the district's largest lead of 8,334 votes. BJP's Prasad Dhasalkar won the Chikhalthana seat, and Dilip Deshmukh defeated Suresh Warpudkar's daughter in Zari.
Even in the Panchayat Samiti Elections, the BJP is leading in 46 seats, a massive jump of 37 seats from 2017 while NCP suffered a loss of 20 seats. Even Shiv Sena of UBT faction suffered a loss of eight seats as they failed to win even a single seat. Overall, Mirroring the Zilla Parishad results, the BJP emerged as a dominant force, significantly eroding the long-standing influence of the NCP and Congress in the district.
