Mumbai: After the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and the NCP swept local body election results, winning 207 of 288 municipal president posts.
The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was restricted to just 44. Even as the local body election results delivered a decisive verdict in favour of the Mahayuti alliance, the Opposition parties have questioned the fairness of the process. According to the Opposition leaders, the outcome offers several clear political signals ahead of the upcoming municipal corporation polls.
“These days, elections are not held as elections, they are auctioned. Elections shouldn’t even be held. The way money has been brought in elections, votes have been bought, and power has been misused. This is the first time I saw the CM and Dy CMs campaigning for the local body elections… The municipality whose budget is Rs 30 crores, around Rs 150 crores were spent in campaigning… Aurangzeb was born in Ahmedabad, and Chhatra
pati Shivaji Maharaj was born in Maharashtra; that is why Maharashtra is being oppressed…” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut told ANI.
BJP emerges as the single largest force
Within the Mahayuti, the BJP stood out with 117 municipal president posts, reported India Today. The report further states that over 3,300 councillor seats, accounting for nearly 48% of the total councillors elected, were bagged by the BJP. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis termed it a “record-breaking” performance.
‘Development reason behind result’
The BJP and its allies repeatedly attributed the victory to an endorsement of a development-centric campaign. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the results reflected the public’s trust in “people-centric development.” Fadnavis stressed that the alliance avoided personal attacks. He claimed that the alliance focused on governance, infrastructure and future blueprints for cities and towns.
“In the municipal council elections in Maharashtra, the BJP secured a majority in 129 seats, while Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena managed to get a majority in only eight municipal corporations… The Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections are on January 15th; this is what the situation will be like for Uddhav Thackeray and the other younger Thackeray who has joined him…” BJP leader Kirit Somaiya told ANI.