The Congress has managed to retain its hold over the Nanded-Waghala City Municipal Corporation, the bastion of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan. Out of the 81 seats, the party has so far won 69, India Today reported.
The results are a setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has managed to win only six wards. While the Shiv Sena has bagged one seat, independent candidates won three seats. Both All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and Congress’ ally, the Nationalist Congress Party, did not win any seat.
Chavan said the election results were a proof that the BJP’s time in Maharashtra was coming to an end. “This is one tight slap to the BJP’s politics of splitting other parties and importing leaders from other parties,” Chavan said, according to Mint.
The polls to the civic body were held on Wednesday, and recorded a voter turnout of nearly 65%. The State Election Commission had deployed the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail voting machines in 31 polling stations for the first time in Maharashtra.
The Congress had won 41 seats in the 81-seat civic body in 2012, followed by Shiv Sena (14 corporators) AIMIM (11) and the Nationalist Congress Party (10).
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