Mumbai: Thanking the people of Maharashtra for BJP’s resounding victory in the municipal council and nagar panchayat elections on Sunday, chief minister Devendra Fadanvis said: “I had predicted that 75% of the nagar [council] presidents will be from the Mahayuti and the results endorse it. Nearly 3,300 corporators are from the Mahayuti. Once again, BJP is the number one party with 48% of the nagar presidents,” he said, pointing out that the Mahayuti alliance has repeated the state assembly results.“We shall do much better in the upcoming municipal corporation elections,” Fadnavis predicted, while speaking with the media in Nagpur.Hailing the Mahayuti alliance’s performance as a “landslide victory”, deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Shinde said the results were a clear signal that BJP would “score a century” while Shiv Sena would notch up a “half-century with a strong strike rate” in the upcoming municipal corporation polls. Addressing the media in Thane, Shinde described the civic poll outcome as a “trailer” for the larger municipal battles ahead.Shinde said the mandate proved that Shiv Sena was no longer confined to Thane or Mumbai but expanded its footprint across Maharashtra, including smaller towns and regions like Konkan and Raigad. “Konkan is the bastion of Sena. Sena has reached every household in the state,” he added.In an apparent swipe at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Shinde said voters preferred leaders who work on the ground. “People want on-field leaders, not those who sit at home. Elections are won by karyakartas and candidates connected with the grassroots,” he said, adding that tickets were given to candidates with strong local engagement. He further said that “those sitting at home met the same fate” as the total number of seats won by the opposition was even less than the tally secured by Shiv Sena alone in the recent local body elections.Deputy chief minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar said one must see behind whom the (Pune) district is standing with. In a post on X, he stated: “In this journey of democracy, we are forever indebted for every vote cast by the king of voters. The trust you have shown, the support you have given, and your resolute stance on the path of development—these are our true strengths. It is only because of your blessings that we gain the hope and fresh energy to work with responsibility. In this election process, we sincerely thank from the bottom of our hearts all the senior leaders of the NCP, former and present office-bearers, workers, and all well-wishers for the hard work they put in, the unity they demonstrated, and the coordination they showed.”Crediting Fadnavis’s transparent governance and people-oriented decisions as having played a decisive role in BJP’s resounding victory, state party president Ravindra Chavan said the opposition was visibly missing on the ground during the election campaign. It was only BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP.Speaking to the media, Chavan pointed out that BJP won more than 125 of the 213 local bodies it contested, winning over 1,100 corporator seats. He said the quick compensation paid by the government to farmers was acknowledged, as they ensured Mahayuti’s victory.“Fadnavis is the only leader capable of taking the state towards a trillion-dollar economy. The Marathwada grid has provided water to many places, Vidarbha’s backlog is being filled, and Konkan is developing prosperously. The people voted for the BJP-led alliance because every region is being developed,” Chavan said, adding that Fadnavis addressed 50 public meetings, and while there were huge demands for his rallies, he held online meetings due to a lack of time.Expressing confidence that the people will not fall prey to deception in the upcoming BMC elections, he said Mumbaikars will remain with the Mahayuti to create the Maharashtra of their dreams.BJP minister Ashish Shelar said Union home minister Amit Shah had exhorted party workers to wipe out the opposition, and they did just that. “Those who abandoned Hindutva and left with the sinking Congress have now sunk. A bigger defeat awaits them,” he said.Fadnavis said the entire election campaign was focused on development, where there was no personal criticism and the results are a receipt to the work being done by the state government. The CM said the opposition had realised the victory of the Mahayuti and so hardly stepped out, as failure would have resulted in their party workers’ morale being affected. “This is the election of party workers and not to campaign for them is not correct,” he said.Analysing the results, Fadnavis said Mahayuti did well in Konkan and Gadchiroli. In Chandrapur, he admitted the party won seats, though lost a number of municipal council president’s posts. He said they will ensure BJP wins the Chandrapur municipal corporation.
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