BJP performs badly in Maharashtra Panchayat polls, bags just 5 seats while Congress wins 21

BJP won five seats while Congress bagged 21 seats and the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) secured 20 seats each in the election to the six nagar panchayats in Maharashtra. Election for 102 seats in these bodies was held on Sunday and the results were declared on Monday.

The results helped former Maharashtra Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Narayan Rane regain lost prestige. He had had lost the 2014 Assembly polls and the 2015 Bandra Assembly bypoll. Congress managed to win the Kudal nagar panchayats in coastal Konkan, Rane's home turf.

Kudal nagar panchayat results are significant as Congress, led by Rane, won nine seats in the 17-seat body by restricting BJP to just one seat. Shiv Sena stood second by winning six seats. Sena and BJP had put their weight around by including senior leaders, including Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, in the campaign.

After the state government formed 138 new nagar panchayats in 2014 by bifurcating urban areas at taluka headquarters, this was the second phase of election for 102 seats after the first round for 345 seats in 19 nagar panchayats in January this year.

In Lohara Nagar Panchayat in Osmanabad, Shiv Sena won the highest number of seats (9), followed by NCP (4) and Congress (3) while BJP could not win even a single seat. Mohol and Madha nagar panchayats in Solapur saw Shiv Sena and NCP faring better over BJP.

NCP won eight seats in Lonand nagar panchayat in Satara followed by Congress which won six seats while BJP was restricted to just two of the total 17 seats.

--PTI