Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis celebrates the party’s victory in Mumbai on Friday.
Credit PTI Photo
The BJP and its Maha Yuti allies on Friday were on course to capture Mumbai’s civic body, ending decades of dominance of the Thackeray family in India’s richest urban corporation, and scored wins in 24 of the 29 municipal corporations of Maharashtra.
The BJP, along with Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, is set to have its Mayor in Mumbai, as together they crossed the half-way mark in the 227-ward BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
The BJP is expected to have its mayors in most of the important cities like Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Nagpur and Amravati, while the Shiv Sena will have its mayor in Thane.
Despite the much-talked-about reunion of Uddhav, the Shiv Sena (UBT) head and Raj, the MNS president, their combined poll might could not stop the BJP’s juggernaut from storming India’s financial capital.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was the architect of BJP’s electoral blitzkrieg and the victory will bolster his credentials further. The only silver lining for the Thackerays was Eknath Shinde’s subpar performance, with the deputy CM’s party ending up in a poor third place in the BMC.
The Thackerays have survived to fight another day, but it needs to be seen how Uddhav and Raj take the alliance further.
Fadnavis, the three-time CM, was also able to cut his deputy CM Ajit Pawar to size.
In the Pawar family stronghold of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, Ajit Pawar’s NCP and Sharad Pawar’s NCP(SP) joined forces to keep the BJP at bay, but it didn’t work.
The Congress will have its mayors in Latur and Chandrapur; the Shiv Sena (UBT) in Parbhani while the Hitendra Thakur-led Bahujan Vikas Aghadi will helm the civic body in Vasai Virar in Palghar district. The Indian Secular Largest Assembly of Maharashtra (Islam Party) will have its mayor in the Muslim-dominated town of Malegaon in Nashik district.
In the BMC, which has 227 electoral wards, the BJP has emerged as the No. 1 party, winning/leading in 88 to 90 seats. The BJP’s ally, the Shiv Sena, managed 28 seats. The NCP, which contested separately, won just three seats. The Shiv Sena (UBT) got 57 seats, MNS nine and NCP (SP) one. The Congress has won 15 seats.
“The Maha Yuti will have its Mayor in Mumbai, a Marathi and a Hindu,” said Fadnavis.
However, Legislative Assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar said: “There would be a Maha Yuti and BJP Mayor in Mumbai.”
In Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, which have 165 and 128 seats, respectively, the BJP won 90-plus and 85-plus seats. The NCP-NCP (SP) alliance bagged 14 and 34 seats, respectively.
In Thane, Shinde’s bastion, the Shiv Sena got 38 seats and the BJP 24 of the total 131 seats. The Shiv Sena (UBT) managed just two seats.
Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen won or was leading in 100-plus seats in 11 cities including Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where it is leading in 16 seats. Other places where it has opened accounts include Mumbai, Thane, Dhule, Amravati and Jalna.
In Nagpur, the hometown of Fadnavis, the BJP has crossed 100 seats. The Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi has won four seats each in Nanded, Latur and Akola.
Quote - The results of various municipal corporation elections indicate that NDA’s bond with the people of Maharashtra has further deepened. Our track record and vision for development have struck a chord. My gratitude to the people across Maharashtra - Prime Minister Narendra Modi