Shiv Sena, BJP stake claims over gram panchayat polls

MUMBAI: Both the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday claimed they had won the highest number of gram panchayats (village council), as results to the elections to 12,711 gram panchayats that went to polls on January 15 were announced. At the time of going to print, the Sena claimed to have won 2,908 gram panchayats, while the BJP claimed to have bagged 5,781. While the Sena said the election results were a mandate for the Uddhav Thackeray-led state government, the BJP said the results showed people support their party.

The three allies in the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi –

Sena, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party – have won close to 80% of the seats. According to a senior Sena functionary, the Sena has bagged close to 3,000 gram panchayats. The BJP claimed to have bagged over 6,000 village panchayats to emerge as the number one, party-wise. Although village panchayat elections are not fought on party symbols, parties claim victory on the basis of local panels formed by the candidates affiliated to them.

“The MVA has dominated the gram panchayat elections, with the Shiv Sena getting 3,000 village councils. This is the best performance of the Shiv Sena in panchayat elections. We will surely consolidate this going forward with the zilla parishad and municipal body polls. It gives us the confidence as the mandate is in favour of the party and the alliance,” a senior functionary said. Maharashtra BJP chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye, in a press conference held in Mumbai, said, “We had said that the BJP will win over 6,000 gram panchayats, which has come true.”

AT THE TIME OF GOING TO PRINT, THE SENA SAID IT WON 2,908 SEATS, WHILE THE BJP CLAIMED TO HAVE WON 5,781 SEATS