The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has once again proved that its election strategies are par excellence, with another resounding victory in the Maharashtra civic bodies' elections.
The BJP is ahead in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Nashik, Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Panvel, Kalyan Dombivli, Mira Bhayandar, Ulhasnagar, Sambhajinagar, Nagpur, Solapur, Akola, Nanded Waghala, Sangli Miraj Kupwad, Jalgaon, Dhule, Jalna, and Ichalkaranji.
At the BJP press conference on Friday, its MP Sudhanshu Trivedi lauded the performance of the party and its allies in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election, as early trends show the BJP emerging as the single-largest party with leads in 56 seats. He also called the win "a befitting answer" to the opposition.
Calling the victory historic, Trivedi thanked the people of Maharashtra for their support to the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena alliance.
"Today, in the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation elections, the BJP and our coalition partners achieved a significant victory. This demonstrates that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, the BJP and NDA are increasingly gaining support... We thank the people of Maharashtra and all supporters on behalf of the BJP for this success in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which is one of the largest municipal bodies not only in India but possibly in Asia," Trivedi said.
"I can say that the people of Maharashtra have stamped on this new development for India... I feel that GenZ has voted in favour of VB, meaning 'Viksit Bharat' (developed India)... this success is definitely a very good sign for the future of the country, a positive sign. People of Maharashtra have given a befitting reply to those who were doing politics on negativity... I also wanted to ask if there is still an INDI alliance... The INDI alliance's hold appears to be completely falling apart," Trivedi added.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis called up Mumbai's BJP chief to congratulate him on the party's performance in the elections. Fadnavis will also visit the state BJP headquarters soon, as per media reports.
Here are some big names who have lost the Mumbai civic polls:
Ward 185: Ravi Raja of the BJP, who was earlier the BMC's opposition leader and had joined the party after leaving Congress in 2024, has lost.
Ward 194: Samadhan Sarvankar of the Shiv Sena, son of former MLA Sada Sarvankar, has lost in this ward.
Ward 73: Dipti Waikar, who is the daughter of MP Ravindra Waikar, has lost in Ward 73.
Ward 106: The BJP has lost this ward, where it fielded Prabhakar Shinde. He was defeated by the MNS' Satyawan Dalwi.
Ward 1: BJP's Rekha Yadav has lost this ward to Congress candidate Sheetal Mhatre.
Ward 185: Ravi Raja of the BJP lost from this ward. He was the LoP in the previous BMC House, and had defected to the BJP from the Congress. He lost to a Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate.
Ward 74: Ujwala Modak, a three-time corporator and a BJP candidate, was defeated by the MNS' Vidya Arya in this ward.
