Maharashtra local body polls: BJP takes lead, MVA trails
What's the story
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading the Maharashtra local body elections, according to early trends. The party is ahead in 3,120 of the 6,859 seats contested across 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats. Meanwhile, its ally Shiv Sena is leading in 600 seats. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which is part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), is leading in 200 seats.
Election dynamics
Mahayuti alliance's strong performance, MVA's poor showing
From the perspective of the entire local bodies, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is leading in 214, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is ahead in only 52. The MVA includes Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP (SP). These elections are crucial as they come ahead of next month's Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls.
Party sentiments
BJP's confidence and MVA's dismal performance
BJP leader Praveen Darekar expressed confidence in their performance, saying, "From the beginning, we were confident about grabbing more than 50% seats. The results have proved us correct." He added that these results are a testament to public trust in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On the other hand, the MVA has performed poorly with leads in only 53 municipal councils and nagar panchayats.
Election turnout
Voter turnout and upcoming challenges
The State Election Commission (SEC) recorded a voter turnout of 67.63% in the first phase of polling across 263 municipal councils and nagar panchayats. The highest turnout was recorded at the Murgud municipal council in Kolhapur district with 88.43%, while Besa Pipla in Nagpur district had the lowest at 51.33%. These results are significant as they come ahead of high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections next month.