As counting continued for the Maharashtra local body elections, Congress leader Vijay Namdevrao Wadettiwar on Sunday alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party enjoys an unfair advantage due to its control over money, power, and central agencies. Reacting to early trends, Wadettiwar said, “I had said that the BJP has everything, money, power, ED, CBI, Election Commission, everything is with them. So much money has been distributed. Even after using all this, they are becoming number one because of themselves, and what we are achieving is because of the people and through honesty.”Trends from the first two hours of counting in Maharashtra’s municipal council elections indicate that the BJP has emerged as the single largest party. According to the trends, the party is set to secure municipal council president posts in 95 locations across the state.
The Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) is leading in 41 municipal councils, while the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction) is ahead in 32 councils.Among the opposition parties, the Shiv Sena (UBT) is leading in eight municipal councils, while the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) is ahead in 11.The Indian National Congress is leading in 26 municipal councils, positioning itself to secure president posts in these bodies. Independent candidates and local alliances have also put up a strong showing, leading in more than 25 towns.
The results will bring to a close the two-phase civic elections held on December 2 and December 21. The outcome is expected to offer an early indication of the balance of power between the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi at the grassroots level.Meanwhile, police and administrative authorities have been placed on high alert across all districts of Maharashtra to ensure law and order during the counting process.