://indianexpress.com Ashok Chavan after the Congress’s victory in the Nanded municipal polls on Thursday. (Express Photo: Prashant Nadkar)
In
a significant morale-booster ahead of the crucial assembly polls in
Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the Congress on Thursday swept the
municipal polls in Maharashtra’s Nanded, defeating the BJP in a keenly
contested battle.While the Congress has been in power in the civic body for nearly two decades now, with Nanded remaining loyal to the Congress even during the 2014 Lok Sabha and assembly polls, the shot in the arm for the party came from the magnitude of Thursday’s win.
The Congress won 71 out of the total 81 seats in the Nanded-Waghala municipal corporation, improving its previous tally of 41. The BJP, which had two corporators in the previous House, stood a distant second, winning five.
In another significant development, the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Muslimeen (AIMIM), which had bagged 11 seats last time, failed to win a single seat this time. “Muslims have understood that the AIMIM cannot be an option to the BJP. They voted for the Congress,” said Maharashtra Congress president and former chief minister Ashok Chavan, the architect of the party’s impressive victory.
Incidentally, most sitting AIMIM corporators who switched to the Congress ahead of the elections, retained their seats.
In another indicator that the traditional “secular vote bank” is veering towards the Congress, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, which fought the election independently, too failed to open its account. Last time, it won seven seats.
BJP’s warring ally, Shiv Sena, which enjoys better grassroots presence in the region, won two seats against last time’s 12.
A relieved Ashok Chavan said, “The BJP is on a downslide. It has started from Maharashtra and will now be felt in other states.” Thanking “Nandedkars” for the “big win for the Congress in trying times”, he said, “Recent local body polls in Parbhani, Malegaon and Bhiwandi have also seen the Congress come up on top.” Incidentally, these regions too have a sizeable Muslim population.
Chavan said the growing discontent against the policies of the Narendra Modi government in the Centre and the Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra had added to the magnitude of victory. “There is palpable unrest among the middle class over the rise in petrol and diesel prices. While the Centre tried to undercut it by lowering taxes two days before the election, voters did not fall prey to the gimmick,” he said.
Nanded has a sizeable trader community. And Chavan felt that the discomfort over the implementation of the GST regime also played a role. “There is also noticeable dissent against the Fadnavis government over the farm loan waiver issue,” he said.
NDTV :The Congress has swept municipal elections in Maharashtra's Nanded-Waghala today, winning 67 of 81 seats. The ruling BJP has won four and its ally the Shiv Sena has won a single seat.
Nanded is considered Congress turf. It is the home base of Congress state president and former chief minister Ashok Chavan and the party has dominated the municipal corporation since it was formed two decades ago. The BJP, on an upswing in Maharashtra since its big wins in the 2014 national and state elections, hoped to change that. An aggressive campaign saw a bitter war of words between the BJP, the Congress and the Shiv Sena.
The AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen), which had 11 corporators in the outgoing civic body, has been routed. The Congress had 41, the Shiv Sena had 14 and the Nationalist Congress Party's 10. The BJP had no seats in the last election.
The BJP, which won the most seats in Maharashtra in the general election three years ago and then again in the assembly elections a few months later, has consolidated its position as the state's number 1 party by winning 12 of 16 civic bodies for which elections have been held since late last year. In as made inroads in traditional Congress strongholds and also those of partner Shiv Sena, which has been bristling at being upstaged by the BJP, its junior partner in Maharshtra for many years.
In elections this February to Mumbai's BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation), Asia's richest municipality, the BJP dramatically improved its position coming a very close second to the Shiv Sena with 82 seats to the Sena's 84. It further closed that gap yesterday by winning a by-election to a seat left vacant by the death of a Congress corporator.
The BJP and the Shiv Sena contested separately and no party could win a majority in the election to the BMC, dominated for years by the Shiv Sena. But in elections held at the same time for nine other municipalities, the BJP won eight. The Shiv Sena managed to retain Thane, where it won 42 seats while the BJP came third with 14 seats, while the NCP won 16 there.
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