The BJP-Eknath Shinde alliance on Monday claimed the top position in the gram panchayat polls held on September 18. The two parties together have staked claim on 299 out of 557 seats. The polling was held for 608 seats, of which 51 were elected unopposed.
While the Sharad Pawar-led NCP has come in second, the Congress stands third in the tally and Uddhav Thackeray’s faction is fourth.
State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule claimed that the BJP has become the number one party by winning 259 sarpanch positions, while Shinde’s camp won 40 sarpanch posts.
The State Election Commission clarified on Monday evening that the gram panchayat elections were not contested on party symbols so party-wise seats cannot be given.
In 88 gram panchayats of Nashik district, NCP won 41, Thackeray faction 13, the BJP and Congress five each, Shinde camp one, and CPM eight. In 61 gram panchayats of Pune district, the NCP won 30, six were held unopposed, the BJP and Shinde camp three each and local alliances won 23.
In Yavatmal (70 gram panchayats), Congress bagged 33, BJP 20, NCP nine, Thackeray faction three and local alliances six. In the sugarcane-rich Ahmednagar, NCP won 20 gram panchayats, BJP 16 and local alliances nine.
In the tribal-dominated Nandurbar district (75 gram panchayats), the BJP won a record 42 gram panchayats while the Shinde camp won 28.
In view of the passage of the direct election bill in the state legislature during the recently held monsoon session, sarpanch leaders were elected directly from among the people.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said it’s the beginning of major victories for the real Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde in the upcoming rural and urban local body elections. “The results have sealed the alliance between the Shiv Sena and the BJP in Maharashtra. Shinde camp is not a faction but it is the real Sena while the rest is ‘shillak’ (remaining) Sena.”
State NCP president Jayant Patil claimed that the mandate was against the Shinde-Fadnavis government as the voters did not like the manner in which the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was toppled.
