On 21st December, results for the first phase of Maharashtra civic polls were announced, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) Mahayuti registered a decisive victory. The alliance won presidents’ posts in 207 of 288 municipal councils and nagar panchayats. The outcome of the civic polls is similar to the alliance’s assembly election performance from just over a year ago. On the other hand, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi has been reduced to just 44 posts. Polling for the civic elections was held on 2nd and 20th December.
BJP emerges as single biggest gainer
The BJP has emerged as the biggest gainer in the civic polls. It has secured 117 presidents’ posts across the state. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena won 53 posts, while the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party secured 37 posts. Furthermore, the BJP has secured over 3,300 councillor seats across the state.
In a statement, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, said, “We have won 117 presidents’ posts, and more than 75 percent of these are with our Mahayuti partners. This is a repeat of the assembly election.” He added that compared to 2017, the number of BJP elected representatives had doubled, calling it the party’s biggest local election win in 25 years.
Regional patterns
Despite being outpaced statewide, Congress managed to check the BJP’s expansion in parts of Vidarbha. Congress held ground in several councils from Chandrapur to Buldhana. On the other hand, the BJP retained dominance in Nagpur, Gadchiroli and parts of Bhandara.
In Western Maharashtra, Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP struggled to retain influence. In contrast, the BJP made gains in Mumbai and Konkan. With these victories, the BJP encroached into traditional Shiv Sena and NCP pockets. Shinde expanded the Sena’s footprint beyond the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and finished second across the state.
In North Maharashtra, the BJP dominated, particularly in Jalgaon. In Marathwada, leaders such as Ashok Chavan and the Munde cousins failed to materialise their gains. Congress won only 28 civic bodies statewide, while Sharad Pawar’s NCP secured seven and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena managed only nine.
