Fadnavis says ruling coalition has won over half the seats in Maharashtra Gram Panchayat polls

It is pointless claiming victory when Gram Panchayat polls are not fought on any party symbol, says senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan

The ruling BJP claimed to have emerged on top in the results to around 1,100-odd Gram Panchayats in 18 districts of Maharashtra on Monday.

A jubilant Devendra Fadnavis, leader of the State BJP as well as the Deputy Chief Minister, said that of the results to 889 Gram Panchayats (of a total 1,165) which were out, the BJP has won in 397, while the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction has won 81.

“The results indicate people of State have yet again reposed faith in the ruling BJP and the Shinde faction (Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena). The BJP continues to be the ‘number 1’ party. We had emerged on top in the previous Gram Panchayat polls as well. Our current lead on nearly 500 Gram Panchayats is more than the combined score of the three MVA parties [Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party or NCP, and the Congress],” Mr. Fadnavis said.

Stating that the BJP had carefully tracked the Gram Panchayat results, he stressed that the party was not making any hollow claim when it said it had won in nearly 400 Gram Panchayats.

Mr. Fadnavis claimed that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena camp, known as the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) had won in 87 Gram Panchayats while the Congress managed to win in 104 and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP had to remain contended with just 98.

Counting was still underway with results to around 200 Gram Panchayats yet to be clear.

While Congress and NCP leaders, without offering precise figures, claimed that the Gram Panchayat elections are never fought on any party symbol and that any party could claim anything, observers noted that the ground had undeniably shifted from under the feet of the Congress in the State’s rural hinterland.