Mumbai, April 12 (Inditop.com) The Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have performed poorly in four municipal elections in Maharashtra while the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) made its presence felt in three civic bodies, according to results announced Monday.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has bagged one civic body – Navi Mumbai – and the Shiv Sena-BJP combine has bagged two civic bodies of Aurangabad and Badlapur. A clear majority eluded the parties in Ambernath where the MNS is expected to play the kingmaker.
In the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), the NCP made a hat-trick by emerging the clear winner with 55 seats while the Congress, its ally at the state level, got a mere 13.
From the opposition, the Shiv Sena got 16 while its ally BJP secured a single seat and four other seats went to independents in the 89-strong house.
In the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation, the Shiv Sena (30) and BJP (15) continued their unbroken reign since the past 25 years by returning to power for the sixth consecutive time.
The Congress-NCP and other allies jointly contested the elections and Chief Minister Ashok Chavan personally campaigned in Aurangabad in a bid to dislodge the Shiv Sena-BJP.
However, the Congress secured 19, the NCP got 11, the MNS only one, while the independents and others got a whopping 23 seats in the 99-member house.
The Shiv Sena-BJP combine managed to retain the 34-member Badlapur Municipal Council (in Thane district) by bagging 12 and 7 seats respectively, against the Congress’s single seat and the NCP’s 10 seats. The MNS won three and there was a lone independent winner.
However, the Shiv Sena-BJP could not retain the 50-member Ambernath Municipal Council (also in Thane district). Though the Sena emerged the largest single party with 16 seats, the BJP got only one.
The Congress secured three seats, the NCP nine, while the MNS bagged six seats. The independents and others emerged as the second largest group, bagging 15 seats.
With no clear winner in Ambernath, the MNS and independents hold the key to the Sena-BJP’s prospects of returning to power in the civic council.
