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MVA eyes victory in local self-govt bodies in Maharashtra
On Wednesday, the MVA succeeded in wresting power from the BJP in the Nagpur Zilla Parishad, home ground of union minister Nitin Gadkari and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress which succeeded in wresting power from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra is now using its combined strength to secure power in local self-government bodies, notably Zilla Parishads (ZP).
On Wednesday, the MVA succeeded in wresting power from the BJP in the Nagpur Zilla Parishad, home ground of union minister Nitin Gadkari and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The results for the elections held recently in six ZPs, namely, Nagpur, Akola, Dhule, Nandurbar, Washim and Palghar were announced on Wednedsay. Barring Dhule, the MVA won the elections everywhere. Last week, a similar picture emerged in Kolhapur, Aurangabad and Nashik ZPs, as also in the Latur Municipal Corporation.
On January 2, the BJP lost the post of chairman and deputy chairman in Kolhapur and Nashik Zilla Parishads but managed to retain this post in the Sangli ZP where three Sena members voted for the BJP.
Maharashtra has 28,000 local bodies which include 26 municipal corporations, 34 Zilla Parishads, 340 municipal councils and Nagar panchyats, 351 Panchayat Samitis and 27,781 gram panchayats.
BJP’s state unit president Chandrakant Patil who suffered a setback in his home ground in the Kolhapur Zilla Parishad said, “The BJP is the single largest party but all these parties have come together to defeat the BJP. This will not continue for long and the BJP will become victorious in the future.”
BJP’s spokesperson Ujwal Keskar said that although the situation was changing in the ZPs, the party had a clear majority in many municipal corporations. In 2017, the BJP won in eight municipal corporations with a clear majority in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik, Jalgaon, Akola and Amravati.
Presently, elections for presidents of Zilla Parishads, mayors and various committee members are taking place in various local bodies and the BJP is vulnerable in those bodies where it does not have a majority.
Although the BJP has a clear majority in most of the municipal corporations, this was not the case in Latur and Kalyan with the result that the BJP lost power in the Latur municipal corporation and the same is expected in Kalyan in the future. On November 22, the BJP lost the mayor’s post to the Congress in Latur Municipal Corporation after two BJP corporators extended support to Congress corporator Vikrant Gojamgunde who was elected mayor.
Maharashtra has 28,532 local bodies which include
•26 municipal corporations
• 34 Zilla Parishads
• 340 municipal councils and Nagar panchyats
• 351 Panchayat Samitis
•27,781 gram panchayats.
MVA has scored victories in Zilla Parishads at Nagpur, Akola, Nandurbar, Washim, Palghar, Kolhapur, Aurangabad and Nashik ZPs and Latur Municipal Corporation.
