BJP tops Maharashtra municipal council and nagar panchayat polls
The Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the leading party in elections to municipal councils and nagar panchayats across Maharashtra, with results declared on Monday. The contest had been billed as a small-scale referendum on the Modi government’s push towards a less cash-dependent economy after demonetisation.
How the parties fared
The BJP won 851 seats, up from 396 in the previous round of polls in 2011, and secured 47 council president posts, more than any other party. Of the 147 councils that voted, the Shiv Sena, the BJP’s ally, took 27 president posts, the Congress 23, the NCP 21 and assorted local fronts 28.
The Congress finished second by seat count with 643, but that was a steep fall from the 1,111 seats it had held before. Together with the NCP, it had long been dominant in local body contests and had hoped that the cash crunch in smaller towns would hurt the BJP. That did not happen.
The result extended the run of victories the BJP has enjoyed in the state since it won the 2014 assembly election.
Credit for Fadnavis, setback for Munde
Observers credited Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who planned and led the campaign. These were the first direct elections for council chairpersons since 2001, when the then chief minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh, brought in the system before it was scrapped. Fadnavis amended the law to restore it after taking office, and observers said the move worked in the party’s favour.
The polls were, however, a blow to state minister Pankaja Munde, seen as harbouring chief ministerial ambitions. The BJP lost heavily in her hometown, Parli-Vaijnath.
Reactions
Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked voters on Twitter, calling the outcome “a win for pro-poor and development politics of BJP”, and praised party workers, Fadnavis and Rao Saheb Danve for their groundwork.
BJP president Amit Shah described the verdict as a rejection of the opposition’s stand against demonetisation, tweeting that it “should be a wake-up call for the opposition attempting to mislead people”.
See also: Bharatiya Janata Party and more election news
Originally published on 29 November 2016. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.
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