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BJP wins 9 of 16 mayoral seats in Madhya Pradesh urban civic body polls
The ruling BJP emerged victorious in the Madhya Pradesh urban civic body elections, winning nine out of the total 16 mayor seats, even as the Congress delivered its best performance since 2009 in the state, bagging five seats
Bhopal: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday emerged victorious in the Madhya Pradesh urban civic body elections, winning nine out of the total 16 mayor seats, even as the Congress delivered its best performance since 2009 in the state, bagging five seats.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which contested its first civic body polls in the state, and an independent candidate won the remaining two mayor posts, the state election commission (SEC) confirmed.
Elections for the urban civic body — including 413 municipalities, 16 municipal corporations, 99 municipal councils and 298 nagar parishads — in the state were held in two phases on July 6 and July 13. While the results of the first-phase elections for 11 mayoral posts were declared on July 17, outcome of the polls for the remaining five seats was announced on Wednesday.
The BJP won the mayoral elections in Bhopal, Indore, Burhanpur, Khandwa, Satna, Sagar, Ujjain, Dewas and Ratlam. The Congress won in Jabalpur, Gwalior, Chhindwara, Rewa and Morena, while the AAP won in Singrauli and an independent candidate won the mayor seat in Katni.
In the last mayoral elections in 2014-2015, the BJP won all 16 seats.
Of the five results declared on Wednesday, BJP candidates Geeta Agrawal and Prahlad Patel won in Dewas and Ratlam, respectively. Congress candidates Ajay Mishra and Sharda Solanki won the Rewa and Morena mayoral polls, respectively. BJP rebel Preeti Suri, who was contesting as an independent candidate, won from Katni.
“We won maximum seats in mayoral elections. We have a majority in 85% municipalities and 75% municipal councils,” said VD Sharma, BJP state unit president. “This is the first time we have received such a huge mandate of voters.”
According to the SEC data, this was the best performance of the Congress since 2009, when direct elections for the mayor post for extended 16 municipal corporations commenced. The direct elections started in 1999, but they were for lesser number of corporations.
“In 1999, the ordinance of direct election of mayor came into existence. Since then, the Congress won a total of only seven seats with a maximum of three in 2009. This is for the first time, we won five seats in the mayor elections and on two seats, we lost by a very narrow margin,” said Kamal Nath, senior Congress leader and party’s state unit chief. “It is very clear that people’s mandate is with us. In (2023) assembly elections, we will create history by winning maximum seats because people want to see new Madhya Pradesh, which is developed and free of corruption.”
The AAP and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), both in the poll fray for the first time, made noticeable inroads and were seen as a reason for the loss of the two national parties on some seats.
For instance, in Gwalior where Congress’s Shobha Sikarwar defeated BJP candidate Suman Sharma by 28,805 votes, AAP’s Ruchi Gupta managed to bag 45,762 votes. The seat, considered a BJP bastion, was won by the Congress after nearly five decades.
Political experts said core BJP voters, especially the business community, shifted to the AAP. In Ujjain, another BJP bastion, the party managed a slender win of 736 votes, as AAP candidate bagged 9,300 votes.
AAP’s Rani Agrawal won the mayor election from Singrauli. Overall, the party won 40 ward councillor seats, of the 6,507 wards that went to polls and was second on 35 others. Most of the AAP gain was in Vindhya and Chambal regions.
“Without any base, we won one mayor seat, 40 councillor seats and in many places, we gave a strong competition to other candidates,” said AAP leader Akshay Hunka. “Now, we have a base to fight the assembly elections and we will give a big fight to both BJP and Congress.”
VD Sharma, the state BJP chief, said: “AAP is nowhere in the competition. Civic body elections and assembly elections are two different things. In Gwalior, we lost not because of the AAP but due to the rain and lower voter turnout.”
Political experts, however, cautioned that the BJP should not ignore the AAP, which is gaining popularity in the state.
“But both Congress and BJP should pay attention to the rise of AAP, which has not only won one mayor seat, but also 40 councillor seats across the state. AAP is targeting reputed local residents such as doctors, engineers and social workers, who are popular and have a good image in the public,” said Deepak Tiwari, another political expert. “When people will have to choose between good and bad, they are most likely to go for reputed people. It can definitely create trouble for the BJP because in Madhya Pradesh, core votes of the BJP are shifting towards the AAP.”
These were the last major elections in urban areas in Madhya Pradesh before the 2023 assembly polls. Rural local body elections are likely to be held after the monsoon.
In Burhanpur — where the Congress lost by a meagre 542 votes — AIMIM’s Shahista Sohail Hashmi bagged 10,322 votes. Overall, AIMIM won seven councilor seats, including three in riot-hit Khargone district.
Experts said emergence of the AIMIM could be a threat for the Congress, which is looking for a comeback. However, Congress leaders said the AIMIM was not a threat but a “plan of the BJP to divide Muslim votes”.
“BJP and Congress won in the same proportion of their assembly strength… But this is alarming for the BJP, which lost from Vindhya and Chambal regions where voters are unpredictable,” said Girija Shankar, a Bhopal-based political analyst.
