MVA, BJP both claim victory in Maharashtra Gram Panchayat polls

The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi and the Opposition BJP, both have claimed victory in the gram panchayat (GP) polls in Maharashtra.

The counting of votes for the January 15 polling was taken up on Monday, and the results were still pouring in.

The Uddhav Thackeray-spearheaded Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar-led NCP and Congress, the three main MVA partners, claimed to have got maximum seats and control over GPs.

However, BJP leaders claimed that they have secured more seats and have control in maximum GPs.

The exact situation will be known by Tuesday evening when a detailed assessment is carried out.

The elections are very significant as 14,234 GPs went for the polls, which is nearly 50% of the total 27,920 GPs. Of the 14,234 GPs, polling was held in 12,711 GPs, as in several places the elections were unopposed.

“The BJP has got a tremendous victory,” Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis claimed.

State BJP President Chandrakant Patil said the BJP has gained dominance in over 6,000 GPs.

However, the BJP has received some setbacks when panels sponsored by senior leaders like Chandrakant Patil, Raosaheb Patil-Danve, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and Ram Shinde have lost.

On the other hand, the MVA claimed victory in the majority of the seats.

“The MVA will gain control of 80% of the GPs...and the Congress will get at least 4,000 to 4,500 GPs,” state Congress President and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said.

Meanwhile, senior NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said from the reports that he has, the MVA has gained control of a majority of the seats.

“The results give a message that all the three political parties in the MVA are working in good coordination. The results of the Legislative Council polls held last month had also proved this fact," State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh of NCP said.