Maharashtra local body election result:Even though Mahayuti crossed the 200-mark tally with the BJP in the lead, the saffron party suffered a huge setback in Nanded district's Loha as its candidate and five kin lost the election.
The saffron party's much-hyped ‘family pack’ strategy fell flat in the Loha municipal council elections as Gajanan Suryavanshi, the candidate for the Loha municipal council president post, and five of his family members were defeated.
The post was won by the Nationalist Congress Party led by Ajit Pawar, whose winning candidate is—coincidentally—also named Sharad Pawar.
Counting of votes for elections to the posts of president and members in 286 municipal councils and nagar panchayats, held in two phases, began at 10 am on Sunday, 21 December.
Which candidates were defeated in Loha?
Those defeated in Loha included Gajanan Suryavanshi, his wife Godavari, brother Sachin, sister-in-law Supriya, brother-in-law Yuvraj Waghmare, and his nephew’s wife Reena Vyavhare, reported PTI.
In Nanded district, the NCP emerged victorious in Loha, Kandhar, Degloor and Umri, while the BJP won in Kundalwadi, Mudkhed and Bhokar.
The Shiv Sena and the Marathwada Janhit Party won two councils each, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress secured one victory each.
The NCP (SP), led by Sharad Pawar, failed to win any of the municipal councils that went to polls in the district, officials added.
The outcome comes amid sharp criticism from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, which had accused the BJP of promoting “dynastic politics” in the Loha polls.
Maharashtra local body elections
The Maharashtra State Election Commission held elections for 288 urban local bodies—246 Municipal Councils and 42 Nagar Panchayats—across all six administrative divisions in a two-phase poll on December 2 and December 20.
A total of 1,07,03,576 voters participated, including 53,79,931 men, 53,22,870 women, and 775 others, casting their ballots at around 13,355 polling stations.
