Jolt to BJP as it loses Nagpur in ZP polls

The BJP has lost the polls in Nagpur Zilla Parishad (ZP) to Congress-NCP alliance, in a development that would disturb the party.

The Congress-NCP, that had teamed up, won 38 seats, while the BJP could bag only 10 seats. Over the past few terms, the BJP had maintained its dominance in the Nagpur ZP, that has 59 seats.

The Shiv Sena contested separately after their break-up with the BJP at the state level, but could not win a single seat. The Peasants and Workers Party won one seat. Nagpur is important for BJP, as it houses the headquarters of RSS, the ideological parent of the saffron party. It is also the hometurf of two top BJP leaders— Union Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Maharashtra’s Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis, a former two-time chief minister.

NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said, “the defeat of the BJP in RSS homeland of Nagpur signals the end of fascist politics and dawn of development. I thank the voters of Nagpur for showing the BJP its place.”