Maharashtra local body polls: Political realignment leads to BJP’s isolation

Of the six zilla parishads, BJP lost Nagpur, which it had won in alliance with Shiv Sena in the last elections. It was also able to wrest control from Congress and NCP in Dhule, where it won 39 of the 56 seats. In Nandurbar, BJP has emerged as the single largest party. In Akola, the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi has emerged as a clear winner. In Washim, it is the NCP, while in Palghar, it is Shiv Sena.

However, it is in former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ turf, Nagpur, where a big reversal has taken place. In the last elections, BJP and Sena in alliance had staked claim to control Nagpur Zilla Parishad. However, this time, BJP’s tally in Nagpur came down from 21 to 15 seats, while Sena was reduced to one seat. This time, Congress with 30 seats, along with NCP’s 10 seats, has taken control of the zilla parishad.

Fadnavis blamed the Sena-led alliance for BJP’s defeat. “The conduct of the political parties (Congress, NCP and Sena) is like a family that is rejoicing and distributing sweets at the birth of a child in the neighbour’s house. On their own, none of these three parties is in a position to come to power,” he said.

The leader of Opposition in the state Assembly added that BJP has made a “quantum jump” by winning 103 of the total 332 zilla parishad seats. In comparison, Congress won only 73 seats, NCP 46 and Sena 49. Of a total of 664 panchayat samiti seats, BJP won 194, Congress 145, NCP 80 and Sena 117.

Notwithstanding the public posturing, BJP leaders at the party’s internal meeting on Thursday expressed concern over the new political realignment in Maharashtra. The leaders admitted that challenges for BJP will continue in the series of local bodies elections ahead and that a new strategy is required to take on Congress, NCP and Sena alliance.

In tribal Nandurbar, BJP, which won 23 of the 56 seats, is the single largest party. But it has been stumped by the coming together of Congress (23 seats) with Sena, which has won seven seats.

In Palghar Zilla Parishad, the BJP, which had 21 seats the last time, won only 12 seats on Wednesday. It finds itself on the backfoot as former ally, Sena (18 seats) has switched sides to NCP (14 seats). Surprisingly, CPI(M) won five seats here.

When contacted, state NCP president and Minister Jayant Patil said: “The results show BJP is losing its political hold at the grassroots level. The setback in Nagpur Zilla Parishad is a clear case. In Palghar, number of BJP seats have come down drastically. Therefore, BJP cannot blame our alliance for its poor showing in zilla parishad polls.”