The fire of the ongoing Maratha quota stir failed to engulf the political fortunes of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as it swept the crucial polls to the Jalgaon and Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad civic bodies on Friday.
In a real humdinger of a contest, the BJP won by a landslide in Jalgaon to score 57 of the 75 seats in the Jalgaon Municipal Corporation (JMC) to break the four decade-stranglehold of Shiv Sena leader Suresh Jain, the district’s influential political boss.
Mr. Jain’s local front, the Khandesh Vikas Aghadi (KVA), which has hitherto dominated the JMC, managed only 15 seats contesting under the Shiv Sena’s symbol as it crumbled in face of the BJP juggernaut.
The BJP similarly delivered a shocker in Sangli, denting the Congress’ ‘sugar-belt’ bastion to win of 41 of the 78 seats in the Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad Municipal Corporation (SMKMC). The party turned the tables on the Congress-NCP alliance, which together managed to secure only 35 seats (Congress 20, NCP 15) despite leading in the early rounds of counting.
The results are considered an important marker of the BJP’s popularity in the face of the 2019 Assembly polls, especially as the Fadnavis government has been under siege since the past month over knotty issues like the milk farmers’ agitation for higher procurement prices and the Maratha reservation question.
“We humbly accept the people’s verdict. I would like to assure that the BJP is committed to resolving problems like reservation, farmers’ issues and bring about development,” said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, speaking in Mumbai after the results.
Historic win in Jalgaon
While both the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) failed to open their accounts in Jalgaon, the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) managed to make its presence felt in the JMC result by bagging three seats.
“It is a historic win for our party. The people of Jalgaon have accepted the BJP’s development model,” said BJP leader and State Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan, considered the architect of the party’s victory in Jalgaon.
In 2013, the BJP had managed to win a paltry 15 seats as opposed to Mr. Jain’s KVA, which had bagged 33.
Commenting on the BJP’s stunning win, Mr. Mahajan further said that his party never indulged in factional politics, but contested on the ‘development plank’.
“We will introspect the reasons for our defeat and continue to work regardless of who is in power,” said the 73-year-old Mr. Jain, speaking in Jalgaon.
The win is expected to enhance Mr. Mahajan’s position within the BJP and cement his ascendancy over senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse - the party’s other important leader from Jalgaon who was until recently regarded as its face in North Maharashtra.
The defeat spells the onset of political twilight for Mr. Jain, a nine-time legislator and former State Minister who often changed his political stripes.
Saffron flowers in Sangli too
Meanwhile, in the Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad civic body, the BJP effortlessly dented the impregnable ‘sugar belt’ bastion dominated by NCP and Congress politicos to beat the Congress-NCP coalition ranged against them.
In a massive sprint, the BJP bagged 41 of the 78 seats – a vast improvement from their 2013 tally of a mere six seats. (At the time, the Congress had secured 41 and the NCP 19).
“Despite both the Congress and the NCP uniting this time, they failed to defeat us. It only shows that the public is interested in development issues and not the false assurances of the opposition parties,” said State Cooperation Minister Subhash Deshmukh, who was in-charge of the campaigning in Sangli.
Remarking on the result, BJP legislator from Sangli, Sudhir Gadgil refuted suggestions of the saffron party ‘importing’ leaders from the opposition.
“Our party has done well at every electoral level – be it the Parliamentary, the Assembly or local bodies segment. We have set-up a new cadre of our own. The proportion of leaders coming from other parties is very less,” said Mr. Gadgil.
Incidentally in 2008, the NCP had forged an alliance with the BJP to dislodge the Congress from the SMKMC. In 2013, the Congress wrested the civic body back from the NCP.
Expressing disappointment at their reversal, State Youth Congress President Vishwajeet Kadam said: “Our party has worked for the welfare of Sangli ever since the inception of its civic body…this is clearly a win of the BJP’s ‘money-power’ over the Congress’ people’s power.”
