Maharashtra civic polls: BJP set for decisive gains, Shiv Sena has edge in BMC

BJP is likely to come to power in at least six civic bodies out of the 10 corporations

February 23, 2017 05:34 pm | Updated December 04, 2021 11:58 pm IST - Mumbai

BJP workers celebrate as their party is leading in Pune civic elections on Thursday.

BJP workers celebrate as their party is leading in Pune civic elections on Thursday.

The BJP is set to make decisive gains in civic polls in Maharashtra even as it is locked in a neck- and-neck fight with its bickering ally Shiv Sena in Mumbai, the latest counting trends suggest.

The Congress and the NCP were headed for a rout across the State including some of their strongholds like Pune.

While the Shiv Sena slightly improved showing in Mumbai and Thane, the BJP is set to retain Nagpur, Akola and wrest Pune and Ulhasnagar from NCP and Nashik from the MNS.

But, as the counting progressed into final rounds, it appears that the Shiv Sena is unlikely to touch the half-way mark of 114 seats in Mumbai, where the BJP is poised for a big leap after fighting the polls on its own.

The BJP is likely to come to power in at least six civic bodies — Pune, Nashik, Ulhasnagar, Akola, Nagpur and Amravati — out of the 10 corporations.

Apart from Mumbai, the city corporations which went to polls were Thane, Ulhasnagar, Nashik, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Solapur, Akola, Amravati and Nagpur.

In Pune, the BJP is leading in 74 out of the total 152 seats, in Ulhasnagar in 32 (78 total seats), Nashik-32 (122), Nagpur-72 (145), Amaravati-21 (87) and Akola-31 (73).

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena is leading in 84 seats in the 227-member BMC, while the BJP is ahead in 81.

In the 131-member Thane civic body, the Shiv Sena has so far won 43 seats, BJP-17, NCP-22, Congress and MIM 2 each, and Independent-1.

Though the BJP made major inroads in the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and neighbouring Thane, it is not sure if Shiv Sena will be ready for a post-poll pact, after a no-holds-barred fight between the allies, which often turned a murky slugfest.

The party is also doing well in the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation, as per the latest trends.

NCP, in the power here in Pune since 2007, is trailing behind the saffron party.

In Pune’s neighbouring Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, the BJP has dented the NCP by leading in 26 seats and won in 22 seats, whereas NCP is leading only in 14 seats.

The BJP appears to have expanded its base in Pimpri Chinchwad, despite fierce competition from the NCP.

The results of 10 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, have seen the Congress plummeting to a new low with the lowest ever tally in the BMC and losing Solapur and Amravati to the BJP.

Prior to this election, the Shiv Sena-ruled Mumbai and Thane in alliance with the BJP, the MNS had Nashik, the BJP had Nagpur, Akola, the NCP had Pimpri-Chichwad, Pune and Ulhasnagar, while the Congress was in power in Solapur and Amravati.

The BJP had also put up a splendid performance in municipal and nagar panchayat elections held across the State in November-January, an outcome hailed by the party leaders as endorsement of the demonetisation and other key policies of the governments at the Centre and in the State.

In 2012, the NCP had won 265 seats across these 10 municipal corporations, while the Congress had won 264 seats.

The Shiv Shiv Sena had won 227 seats while BJP had won 205 seats.

The BJP also improved its performance in rural areas, traditionally dominated by the Congress and the NCP.

The BJP is likely to win the zilla parishad polls in Latur in Marathwada, where it is leading in 30 out of the total 58 seats and is also spreading its base in Buldhana, Wardha, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli.

In the zilla parishad polls in Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri districts, people have largely voted for Shiv Shiv Sena, as per the early trends.

In 2012 zilla parishad elections, the Congress had emerged as the single largest party in Amravati, Buldhana, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Kolhapur Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad, Sindhudurg and Yavatmal.

The NCP was the single largest party in Ahmednagar, Beed, Jalna, Nashik, Parbhani, Pune, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Satara and Solapur.

The BJP was the leading party in Jalgaon and Wardha, while the Shiv Sena in Aurangabad and Hingoli in 2012.

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