The local body elections across Maharashtra have once again proved that the BJP is still a powerful party in the state and managed to wrest the BMC from the Shiv Sena after more than 25 years. However, the results also showed that there were signs of encouragement for the Congress.
The Congress decided to fight the local polls in Maharashtra solo this year, choosing to concentrate its machinery in areas it was confident of winning.
Of the total 2,869 seats contested this time, the Grand Old Party of India decided to contest only 528. Out of that, it won more than half – 226 seats.
As per the trends till 6.30 pm on Friday, the Congress stands fourth among the parties in terms of seats won in Mumbai. In terms of seats won in all local polls in the state today, the party stands third after the BJP and the Shiv Sena.
How many seats did the Congress run for?
The Congress contested on select seats across Maharashtra. It fielded 167 candidates from 227 seats in Mumbai.
The Congress has fielded 101 candidates in Thane, while 100 of its candidates contested local body elections in Pune and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.
The party has fielded 60 candidates in Pimpri-Chinchwad.
In what civic bodies does Congress lead?
Congress is leading in Bhiwandi Nizampur, Latur, Amravati, Kolhapur and Chandrapur.
The results are more encouraging for the Congress as it is the first time since 1999 that it is contesting the civic body polls in Maharashtra without allying itself with regional organisations.
Why did Congress decide to go solo?
The Congress broke with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which also consisted of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (SP) as a result of the UBT’s alliance with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), led by Uddhav Thackeray’s cousin, Raj.
The Congress had earlier criticized the strong-arm approach of the MNS as they physically assaulted people over the Marathi vs Hindi issue in Mumbai.
In addition, the NCP (SP) also joined hands with the NCP in Pune, pulling the Congress away from their longtime friend Sharad Pawar.
