In the recently-held civic polls to 25 Zilla Parishads in the State, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was the overall leader in seats and held the number one position in nine zilla parishads, but it may not be the ruling party in more than six.
This is because the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have formed an alliance and they are set to claim power in more than 15 zilla parishads. Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena will be able to seek power in two parishads and may play spoilsport for the BJP in at least three parishads. The post-poll arithmetic effectively leaves the BJP with power in only six zilla parishads of the total 25 that went to the polls.
‘Power in sight’
NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said, “The NCP and the Congress have decided to form an alliance. We are confident to claim power in at least 14 Zilla Parishads in the State.” On the Sena’s ongoing tiff with the BJP over the mayor’s post in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Mr. Malik, said, “The BJP knows very well that their actions in Mumbai will have a reaction all over the State. They will be extremely careful in Mumbai and may not hurt the Sena. After all, the Chief Minister has to take care of the party in all pockets of the State.”
At present, except for Sindhudurg, Nanded, Ahmednagar and Amaravati, the Congress does not enjoy the number one status anywhere else in the State. The NCP is currently in the driver’s seat in Pune, Satara, Osmanabad, Parbhani and Beed. The Congress-NCP alliance could see it grab power in Nasik, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Hingoli and Yavatmal as well.
The Sena is the single largest party in Ratnagiri and Raigad, but may play spoilsport in Jalna, Aurangabad, and Buldhana. The BJP, therefore, is effectively left with just Jalgaon, Latur, Wardha, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli.
Sticking together
Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ashok Chavan too had hinted on a post-poll alliance with the NCP after the results for the 10 municipal corporations and 25 zilla parishads were declared on February 23. Both parties suffered heavy losses all over the State, including its rural base.
