BJP’s dominance complete in Maharashtra with Mumbai corporation in its control
BJP-led Mahayuti is set to come to power in 25 of the 29 municipal corporations, including the prestigious BMC.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance put up a stellar show in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls held on Thursday, January 15, as trends indicate landslide victory for the alliance. With this, the BJP and Shiv Sena of Eknath Shinde clinch the BMC from the Thackerays who controlled India’s richest civic body for nearly three decades.
As the Mahayuti is set to wrest the BMC now, it is pertinent to note that even the Thackeray cousins’ reunion could not stop the BJP-led saffron wave.
And the story is the same in the Maharashtra civic body elections overall. The Mahayuti is set to come to power in 25 of the 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai.
The State Election Commission is likely to announce the results officially later tonight, news agency PTI reported.
As per the latest trends on Friday evening for 225 of the total 227 seats in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the BJP was leading in 88 seats followed by Shiv Sena-UBT (64), Shiv Sena (29), MNS (9), Congress (24), AIMIM (8), MNS (6), NCP (3).
While the Mahayuti was initially set for a comfortable majority, the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena threw a surprise as it narrowed the margin for a bit, only for the BJP alliance to bounce back.
What led to Opposition’s damp show?
Rifts within the Opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), multi-cornered contests, and lack of a robust plan among the BJP rivals are being seen as some of the reasons that propelled the Mahayuti alliance to a remarkable victory.
The BJP contested the January 15 polls in an alliance with the Shiv Sena led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, while Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), headed by Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, respectively, had a pre-poll pact.
The Congress, part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) along with Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) at the state level, tied with the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and Rashtriya Samaj Paksh (RSP).
Highlights from other key civic bodies
Thane: As the counting of votes for the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) elections was underway, trends indicated that Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena was ahead in 55 seats while the BJP was ahead on 25 seats. In Thane, the BJP and Shiv Sena’s Shinde faction have joined hands, while Shiv Sena (UBT), the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), and the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are part of another alliance. Ajit Pawar’s NCP, the Congress, and the Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA) have gone solo in Pune.
Pune: The BJP took a massive lead in both Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, while the reunions of Pawars and Thackerays has failed to make a mark in both the municipal corporation elections, securing single-digit seats in Pune. The BJP is leading more than 80 seats in both the municipal corporations.
AIMIM’s major gains in BMC, other civic bodies
Asaduddin Owaisi-led also put up an impressive performance with notable notable gains particularly in Muslim-dominated wards. The AIMIM was leading in 94 wards, as per TV reports at 8pm.
The Owaisi-led party was leading with 33 seats in Sambhajinagar, 15 seats in Amravati, 20 in Malegaon, 14 in Nanded Waghala, 10 in Dhule, 2 in Jalna. AIMIM is, in fact, one of the key parties that cut into the Congress’s traditional support base as the grand old party is staring at a collapse of its urban base in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
