BJP sweeps Maharashtra municipal and ZP polls: Fadnavis accepted as the face of the state

In this week’s 10 municipal corporation, 25 Zilla Parishad and 283 Panchayat Samiti elections, it appears the lotus is in full bloom all across the state — in urban and rural areas. There also seems to be a resounding acknowledgment that people support the twin themes of development and transparency, the planks on which the BJP executed its election campaign. There is no evidence of a backlash against demonetisation, nor any anger against the party for breaking its two-decade-old alliance with the Shiv Sena. And a major factor for the statewide acceptance of the BJP is the charismatic and clean image of Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis, whose visage adorned most of the pre-election campaign posters and hoardings.

The party gained a majority in eight out of 10 municipal corporations. The overall seat tally for municipal corporations across the state is as follows:

A cursory glance at the table will show you that all Opposition parties — including the Shiv Sena — have far smaller numbers than the BJP. Additionally, many Independents are also set to lend their support to the BJP. This is unsurprising, because even if you add up the seats won by every other party and Independents, you get a total of 634, while the BJP itself holds 629 seats. But it’s not only in municipal corporations that the BJP has emerged as such a force. In December 2016, the BJP emerged as the Number One party in polls for 212 municipal councils and bodies, winning 1,207 seats followed by the Congress (919), NCP (788) and Shiv Sena (616).

It’s worth bearing in mind that these elections were held in the immediate aftermath of the demonetisation drive.

A quick glance at the ZP and Panchayats:

In summation, apart from the individual seats picked up by the BJP, the party is Number One in Ulhasnagar, Nashik, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Solapur, Akola, Amravati and Nagpur. In the other two municipal corporations — Mumbai and Thane — Shiv Sena led the tally.

After the victory, Fadnavis tweeted:

Congratulations & Thank You to people of #Mumbai & Maharashtra for showing faith in #BJP led State & Central Govt.#ParivartanHonarach

— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) February 23, 2017

This is a historical win in true sense.
Our success in ZP elections is also remarkable. And BJP won seats for the first time at many places

— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) February 23, 2017

This is victory is of Hon PM @narendramodi ji's vision & BJP's agenda of transparency.
I dedicate this victory to the people of Maharashtra.

— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) February 23, 2017

Click here for the full results