Results of Nagar Panchayat and Zilla Parishad polls show individual gains for alliance partners
The recent local body elections in Maharashtra - Nagar Panchayat and Zilla Parishad - showed that while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged more seats, the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners could collectively keep the national party at bay. The results also proved that the support for the BJP had not eroded to a large extent.
The BJP secured the top spot in the Nagar Panchayat poll results last week, while the MVA allies together won 57% of the total seats. A similar trend was seen in the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polls held in October 2021, where the BJP got the first position but with the tally of MVA partners put together, the coalition was ahead by a huge margin. The three parties, however, contested separately at most of the places.
Among the MVA partners, the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) gained most seats in the Nagar Panchayat elections, while the Congress saw a drop in its 2017 tally.
The three ruling parties won 1,021 seats in these local body polls against the BJP’s 419 seats. The polls for 1,802 seats in 106 Nagar Panchayats, 105 seats in the two District Councils, and 210 seats in 15 Panchayat Samitis were conducted in two phases on December 21, 2021, and January 19. The Nagar Panchayats govern smaller towns in semi-urban areas.
In the Zilla Parishad elections, of the 85 seats, the BJP won 22, while the Congress, NCP and Sena bagged 19, 15 and 12 seats, respectively (total 46). The BJP’s tally dropped from 31 to 22 seats, while the three partners improved their tally by 10 to 46 seats. In Panchayat Samitis that govern tehsils, the Congress emerged first by winning 36 seats, while the BJP could get 33. The NCP and the Sena obtained 18 and 23 seats respectively from the total 144 seats.
{{/usCountry}}In the Zilla Parishad elections, of the 85 seats, the BJP won 22, while the Congress, NCP and Sena bagged 19, 15 and 12 seats, respectively (total 46). The BJP’s tally dropped from 31 to 22 seats, while the three partners improved their tally by 10 to 46 seats. In Panchayat Samitis that govern tehsils, the Congress emerged first by winning 36 seats, while the BJP could get 33. The NCP and the Sena obtained 18 and 23 seats respectively from the total 144 seats.
{{/usCountry}}NCP’s gain
In the Nagar Panchayat polls, though the NCP retained its second spot it had got in 2017, it gained over 50 seats. The tally rose to 381 from 330. The party not only won seats in western Maharashtra, its stronghold, but also made gains in districts of north Maharashtra. The party which has strong leaders, including Eknath Khadse and Rohit R Pawar, bagged 55 seats in four districts of the region. In Konkan districts too, the NCP won seats in Raigad and Ratnagiri.
NCP chief spokesperson and minister Nawab Malik said, “We are number one in the state; even ahead of the BJP.” He further said, “The party’s tally is close to 450. In many places, we did not contest on the symbol, for instance, Patan [in Satara]. Mainly our gains have come from Konkan, Marathwada and parts of north Maharashtra.” In many local bodies, the MVA constituents contested separately, yet they managed to win and keep the BJP out of power.
Political analysts said the NCP has gained the most after coming to power, followed by the Sena. The Congress’ performance has been a mixed bag, they added.
Hemant Desai, a Mumbai-based political analyst, said the NCP, which has a strong rural presence, coupled with organisational ability and strong leadership, has gained a lot electorally in the last two years.
“The NCP has been working like clockwork from the top to the grassroots level. This has been underscored in the results of local body polls. It has gained the most since it came to power, followed by the Sena. The Congress had complained about fund allocations, but its performance has been mix,” he said.
Sena’s surge
The Uddhav Thackeray-led party came last among the four parties even though it made good progress as compared to the 2017 polls. From 201 Nagar Panchayat seats, it increased its tally by 95 - a jump of 47%.
Anil Desai, Sena secretary and Rajya Sabha MP, said the party’s tally is going to be around 305-310 Nagar Panchayat members, and they are in touch with many Independents to form a panel to control the local body.
The boss, however, was not pleased with the party’s efforts, which he made clear while addressing Sena workers and leaders on January 23.
Thackeray said the party leaders, ministers do not take any elections seriously, except those to the Lok Sabha and the Assembly. He asked them to emulate leaders from their alliance partners. He directed them that henceforth, all elections should be contested with the intent to win.
Sena leader and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said the MVA partners’ tally should not be viewed individually. He said though the BJP has bagged the highest number of seats in the Nagar Panchayat polls, it will remain in the opposition.
“We view the number collectively as we are running the state government... They might have got more seats, but the BJP is Maharashtra’s number one opposition party and it will remain so for years to come,” he said.
Sena leader and urban development minister Eknath Shinde said the MVA has succeeded together. “Though the Sena is known to be an urban party, it has got good results in the rural areas as well. If you look at individual parties, the BJP may be seen with the most seats, but if viewed collectively, the MVA has the highest seats.”
The Sena increased the tally in Pune, Satara, Sangli, Nashik, Dhule, and Nandurbar districts. The party, however, saw a loss in some districts of Marathwada, which is one of its strongholds.
Desai said the Sena has its CM, so a jump of 95-100 seats is not spectacular.
Congress’ decline?
The Congress saw a drop of 82 seats in the Nagar Panchayat polls from its tally in 2017. The party lost a chunk of its seats in Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, and Raigad districts of the Konkan region along with Nashik, Nandurbar, and Jalgaon in north Maharashtra.
Desai said the leadership issues had plagued the party’s success in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. “The Congress’ decline started after 2014. The central leadership needs to pay more attention to the state unit. There is no coordination in the local units. All key leaders, including Prithviraj Chavan, Ashok Chavan, Nana Patole and Balasaheb Thorat, are restricted to their regions and districts,” he said.
Atul Londhe, Congress spokesperson, said the performance analysis needed to be based on the strength of legislators. “The results show the MVA constituents, which have 56 (Sena), 54 (NCP), and 44 (Congress) legislators respectively, have got over 1,000 seats in the panchayat elections. The BJP with 105 MLAs has got only 419.”
Alliance and future polls
In the upcoming municipal corporation elections, the alliance partners are expected to go solo in most cities. “Contesting local elections on our own gives an opportunity to our grassroots workers to assess the response of people,” an NCP leader said.
Key corporations, including Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik and Aurangabad, are expected to go to polls in a couple of months.
Despite the recent results showing a collective might of the MVA, the three parties have not entered into any formal alliance for any civic body election so far.
A Sena leader said, “So far, there is no agreement on any alliance for the municipal polls. But if it works out, we intend to have it for Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, and Navi Mumbai.”
The Congress has spoken openly on going independently in the local polls, including Mumbai.