Mumbai: Riding on its emphatic victory in the recent municipal corporation elections, the ruling Mahayuti alliance — comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena — has extended its dominance to Maharashtra’s rural heartland, putting up a strong show in the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections across 12 districts. With the BJP emerging as the single largest party, the Mahayuti once again stamped its authority over local self-government bodies.
Early Trends Favor Mahayuti in Zilla Parishads
According to figures shared by the State Election Commission, the BJP has won 225 of the 731 Zilla Parishad seats, while the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) has won 162 seats. The Nationalist Congress Party won 165 seats, followed by the Indian National Congress with 55, Shiv Sena (UBT) with 43, and NCP (SP) with 26 seats. The trends point to a competitive contest but one that broadly favours the Mahayuti alliance.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the results reflect the people’s renewed faith in the Mahayuti’s leadership. He noted that the BJP has emerged as the single largest party in all 12 Zilla Parishads and asserted that the alliance is poised to form administrations in each of them.
Fadnavis said the BJP has comfortably crossed its 2017 tally of 141 Zilla Parishad seats, surging past the 225-mark in the results declared so far. In the Panchayat Samiti elections, the party is leading in around 410 seats, a sharp rise from 284 in 2017. Of the 125 Panchayat Samitis, the BJP is expected to control about 50, Shiv Sena 26, NCP 23, Congress and NCP (SP) seven to eight each, and Shiv Sena (UBT) around five — indicating that the Mahayuti could command well over 100 bodies.
Significant Increase Over 2017 Tally
Marathwada delivered mixed results. In Dharashiv, the BJP–Shiv Sena combine won the largest share of seats. BJP could manage 19 seats and Shivsena 15. In Latur, the Congress emerged as the single largest party with 23 seats, but the combined strength of the BJP (18) and NCP (12) ensured Mahayuti influence over power formation.
Localised contests
In Sangli’s Khanapur taluka, Shiv Sena MLA Suhas Babar retained complete dominance, with the party winning all four Zilla Parishad and eight Panchayat Samiti seats, leaving the BJP without representation in the segment.
In Sangli’s Khanapur taluka, Shiv Sena MLA Suhas Babar retained complete dominance, with the party winning all four Zilla Parishad and eight Panchayat Samiti seats, leaving the BJP without representation in the segment.
District-Wise Trends Reflect Mixed but Clear Patterns
The Congress has secured power in two Zilla Parishads and is set to be part of the ruling arrangement in two others, state party chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said.
NCP (SP) leader and former minister Jayant Patil said the Sharad Pawar-led faction has emerged as the single largest party in the Sangli Zilla Parishad with 18 seats. The BJP won 16 seats, the Shiv Sena eight, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP six, while other parties shared two seats.
In a dramatic finish, a Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate won the Dhoki Panchayat Samiti seat in Dharashiv district by a margin of just one vote against his BJP rival. Amar Samudre secured 3,187 votes after gaining two additional votes from postal ballots, while BJP candidate Nihal Qazi polled 3,186 votes, including three postal ballots. Officials said 56 votes were cast for NOTA.
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