Maharashtra: BJP ahead in municipal council elections

The local bodies elections were held at Jamner, Ajra, Kankavali, Guhagar, Devrukh and Vaijapur.

The BJP on Thursday got a lead in the municipal council elections bagging 57 seats out of the total 115 seats. The local bodies elections for president of municipal council and panchayat saw the BJP winning four of the
total six. The local bodies elections were held at Jamner, Ajra, Kankavali, Guhagar, Devrukh and Vaijapur.

In north Maharashtra’s Jamner, minister for water resources Girish Mahajan pulled a major victory winning 24 out of 24 local bodies seats. The result is also a warning bell for senior leader Eknath Khadse who has always been perceived as the architect of BJP’s growth in North Maharashtra.

Sandhya Mahajan, wife of Girish Mahajan, was elected the president of the Jamner municipal polls. The election also assumes significance as Mahajan is perceived to be close to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis within the party and government.

“The election outcome can be attributed to the hard work of the party workers and development work of the government, led by Devendra Fadnavis,” Mahajan said. After Khadse invited controversy following Pune land scam, he had to resign from the government. This paved the way for the rise of Mahajan as the new OBC leader in North Maharashtra.

In another development, Narayan Rane-led Maharashtra Swabhimani Party gave a drubbing to political rival Shiv Sena in local bodies elections at Kankavali in Konkan region. This disappointed Sena as it felt that the BJP had lend its support to Rane.

The immediate fallout was that Sena ventilated its anger against the BJP-led government by protesting against the biggest oil refinery project at Konkan. The India’s first green project called West Coast Refinery in Ratnagiri district of Konkan is expected to bring investments worth Rs 1 lakh crore and generate direct and indirect employment to one lakh people in the region.

However, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said, “Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had promised that the oil refinery project will not be thrust on people against their wishes. But it seems the central government was not heeding to state government.” The Sena will oppose the project, he asserted.

Thackeray is in Japan and made his observations through a statement issued by the party in Mumbai.