Congress retains Nanded civic body; BJP victorious in Bhandup, Pune, Kolhapur bypolls
The Congress has 41 members in the outgoing civic body that has a total of 81 seats, followed by 14 corporators of the Shiv Sena, 11 of the AIMIM and Nationalist Congress Party’s 10.
With 57 seats in its kitty and a lead in another 10 seats, the Congress registered a sweeping victory in the Nanded-Waghala municipal corporation elections, the home turf of state party chief Ashok Chavan. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged four seats, while the Shiv Sena has won one seat so far.
The counting for the election held on Wednesday is in progress at counting stations in Nanded and is expected to end by 5pm.
The polls, which registered 64.82% voting, were fought closely between the Congress and NCP. Although the results were unexpected for the ruling BJP, it is more shocking for the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party, which had 14 and 10 sitting corporators respectively.
Chavan said people voted in favour of development. “The BJP got candidates without verifying their credentials. This has cost them dearly,” he said.
The municipal corporation of Nanded, the home turf of state Congress chief and former chief minister Ashok Chavan, has been ruled by the Congress, since it came into existence two decades ago.
Chavan had put all his might in the polls ensuring a three-way fight, and avoiding a split in minority votes.
The Congress has 41 members in the outgoing civic body that has a total of 81 seats, followed by 14 corporators of the Shiv Sena, 11 of the AIMIM and Nationalist Congress Party’s 10.
The campaign for the polls witnessed a bitter war of words between the Congress, BJP and Shiv Sena.
The BJP had won 12 of the 16 civic bodies for which polls were held this year, expanding its footprint over the state’s urban areas at the cost of the Opposition and its ally, the Shiv Sena.
However, it’s victory run stopped in Nanded.
The BJP, meanwhile, won by-polls in Bhandup, Koregaon Park, Pune and Kolhapur held on Wednesday.
BJP’s Jagruti Patil defeated Shiv Sena’s Meenakshi Patil in Bhandup by a vote margin of 4,892, while Himali Kamble defeated Nationalist Congress Party’s Dhananjay Gaikwad in Pune by 4,483 votes.
The BJP had joined hands with Republican Party of India in Pune. In Kolhapur by-poll, BJP’s Ratnesh Shirolkar was declared the winner.