Mahayuti sweeps Maharashtra civic body polls, oppn struggles in most urban centres

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 17 (ANI): After losing control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which is in alliance in the state, failed to make significant gains in other municipal corporations as well, as the Mahayuti consolidated its dominance in key urban centres.
The MVA comprises Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction).
In Thane, which has 131 seats across 33 wards, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena emerged as the single largest party, winning 75 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 28 seats.
According to the State Election Commission (SEC), Shiv Sena (UBT) managed to win just one seat, while Congress and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) failed to open their accounts. NCP (SP) also secured only one seat in the Thane municipal corporation polls.
The Mahayuti won 103 of the 122 seats in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation, with the BJP securing 50 seats and the Shiv Sena 53.
Meanwhile, Congress secured victory in two seats, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in five seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) in 11 seats, and NCP (SP) in only one seat.
Notably, the NCP secured victory on nine seats.
Pune, considered a traditional stronghold of the Pawar family, emerged as another key battleground.
Despite Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar joining hands, the BJP won 119 out of the 165 seats. Shinde's Shiv Sena failed to win a single seat, while the NCP (SP) and Ajit Pawar-led NCP together managed only 30 seats.
Congress secured 15 seats in Pune. Shiv Sena (UBT) won just one seat, with MNS drawing a blank.
In Nagpur, the BJP retained its long-standing stronghold, winning 102 of the 151 seats, while Congress won 34. Shiv Sena (UBT) only won two seats while MNS and NCP (SP) drew a blank.
Of the 2,869 seats across municipal bodies, the BJP-led Mahayuti emerged as the clear winner in multiple places, securing 1,824 seats.
Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS together managed to win only 168 seats across the state in the recently concluded local body polls.
The Congress, which fought the polls alongside the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), secured 324 seats.
The NCP, which was in alliance with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, won 167 and 36 seats, respectively.
Meanwhile, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) registered a notable presence in the state, improving on its performance in previous municipal elections.
According to official figures released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the BMC, the BJP won 89 seats, polling 11,79,273 votes, which accounts for 21.58 per cent of the total votes cast. Among all winning candidates, the BJP's vote share stands at 45.22 per cent, making it the single largest party in the civic body.
Its alliance partner, the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), secured 29 seats with 2,73,326 votes, translating into 5.00 per cent of the total vote share. Together, the BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde) alliance emerged as the largest bloc in the BMC.
On the other side, the Shiv Sena (UBT), contesting in alliance with the MNS, won 65 seats. The UBT-led Sena polled 7,17,736 votes, accounting for 13.13 per cent of the total votes cast. The MNS added 6 seats to the alliance tally, with 74,946 votes and a 1.37 per cent vote share. The Indian National Congress (INC) secured 24 seats, polling 2,42,646 votes, which represents 4.44 per cent of the total vote share.
Among other parties, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) won 8 seats with 68,072 votes. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) secured 3 seats, the Samajwadi Party won 2 seats, and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) won 1 seat.
Overall, winning candidates from recognised political parties polled 26,07,612 votes, amounting to 47.72 per cent of the total votes cast. The total number of votes polled in the election stood at 54,64,412, while 11,677 voters opted for NOTA. The results reflect a fragmented but competitive civic mandate, with alliances playing a decisive role in shaping the final outcome of the BMC elections. (ANI)