Nagpur/Mumbai” The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed to have emerged on top in the results to 7,135 Gram Panchayats spread across 34 districts of Maharashtra on Tuesday.
While Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the ruling coalition of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction and the BJP had trounced the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance (of the Nationalist Congress Party, the Congress and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena faction), the MVA leaders charged Fadnavis with making “false claims”.
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According to reports, voting for 7,682 Gram Panchayats was held on December 18. The results were declared on Tuesday. The Bharatiya Janata Party stated the candidates backed by the party have won 2,482 seats, while the Shinde faction claimed victory in 842 seats.
The NCP claimed to have won 1,215 seats while the Congress said the highest number of more than 900 sarpanchs were elected from that party alone. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction said it bagged 639 seats.
Maharashtra State Election Commission (MSEC), however, said as the elections were contested by panels (comprising groups of candidates irrespective of political affiliations), the Commission does not provide data suggesting the number of villages or seats won by any particular party.
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule had termed the poll outcome a “historic” win for the party, which he said showed that rural Maharashtra trusted the Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government. “The entire state is getting saffronised. It is a historic win for the BJP,” he told reporters in Nagpur.
State Congress chief Nana Patole, however, accused the BJP of indulging in false propaganda about the election results. “The highest number of more than 900 sarpanchs were elected from the Congress alone and the number of sarpanch seats won by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is far more than the BJP,” he said.
Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve said a large number of sarpanches from his faction were being elected.
“The results are proof that the rural populace has shown full confidence in the Eknath Shinde-led ‘Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena’-BJP government,” said Fadnavis, speaking in the Legislature premises in Nagpur with Shinde by his side. The results were a stamp of approval of the decisions taken by CM Shinde, added Fadnavis, while lauding BJP State President Chandrashekhar Bawankule’s efforts on ground to help take the party to a resounding victory.
In a jibe at Thackeray, Fadnavis said that the results were proof that the public had recognised the current dispensation as the “legitimate government”.
However, Congress State chief Nana Patole questioned Fadnavis’ claims, remarking that the Deputy CM’s figures were utterly wrong. “This is a false government used to making phoney claims. For instance, in Nagpur itself, where counting is taking place on 237 GPs, the Congress is winning on 200,” Patole said.
Likewise, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said anybody could make any claim in the GP poll result as the elections were not fought on any party label.
Voting to the GPs was held on December 18 and an average turnout of 74% was recorded.
