Maha Civic Polls 2017: Modi Tweets His Joy At BJP’s Victory Sweep
Today will decide who will rule over India’s oldest and richest civic body.
Counting for BMC elections and nine other civic bodies in Maharashtra has concluded.
Final Tallies for Pune, Thane, Nashik and Nagpur:
- Pune Municipal Corporation- BJP: 77, NCP: 44, Congress: 16, Shiv Sena: 10, MNS: 6, Others: 5
- Nashik- BJP: 51, Shiv Sena: 33, Congress: 6, NCP: 4, MNS: 3, Others: 5
- Thane- Shiv Sena: 51, BJP: 17, NCP: 26, Congress: 2, Others: 3
- Nagpur- BJP: 58, Congress: 19, NCP: 1, Others: 4
A Saffron Sweep: 8 out of 10 civic bodies across the state were won by the BJP
Shiv Sena won in Mumbai (BMC) and Thane
Catch all the live updates only on The Quint!
Modi Takes To Twitter To Express His Gratitude
The BJP won eight of ten civic body elections across Maharashtra today. In Mumbai, the most important one, they came a close second, winning 81 seats; Shiv Sena won 84. Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes to Twitter to express his gratitude towards the people of Maharashtra for acknowledging the hard work CM Devendra Fadnavis and his team put in. He also thanks the people of India for putting increasing faith in the BJP.
Recently, the BJP also made major inroads into Odisha after coming out on top in the panchayat elections. The party improved its tally 850% compared to the 2012 elections.
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Join The Quint’s Ashish Dikshit and Pallavi Prasad discuss, vent and analyse the neck-and-neck result of the BMC Elections 2017 here:
Shiv Sena and BJP Must Come Together: BJP
Soon after the final tally of the BMC Elections was declared (Shiv Sena: 84 seats, BJP: 81 seats), a senior BJP leader addressed the press about a possible alliance between the two frenemies.
Final Tally for BMC Elections
Counting for 226 seats out of 227 is over and the final results are:
- Shiv Sena: 84
- BJP: 81
- Congress: 31
- NCP: 9
- MNS: 7
- Others: 14
One ward is undergoing a recount of votes.
Shiv Sena Too Claims Victory
BJP Claims Victory in BMC With Support of Independents
Mumbai BJP Chief Ashish Shelar claims victory for BJP leading on 81 seats after announcing the support of four independent candidates.
Major Blow to Former Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde
Solapur’s civic body, a stronghold of Congress since 1964 is now going to BJP. This is specially significant for Sushil Kumar Shinde, who lost to BJP in his own constituency.
Pankaja Munde Offers Her Resignation
BJP’s Pankaja Munde has offered her resignation after losing in the Zila Parishad elections in Parli, Beed, also her hometown. She is the Minister for Rural Development, Women and Child Welfare. She lost to NCP leader and estranged cousin Dhananjay Munde.
Results in for 199 of 227 BMC Seats
Shiv Sena wins 77, BJP wins 69, INC wins 27, NCP wins 8, MNS wins 4, SP wins 6,AIMIM wins 3, ABS wins 1, Others win 4.
Celebrations Outside Matoshree Stopped After BJP Closes In & A Tree Catches Fire!
Though Shiv Sena made huge leaps in the first few hours of counting, BJP is now closing in. As counting continues, Shiv Sena is leading in 93 seats while BJP is leading in 77.
Celebrations outside Matoshree, the Thackeray’s family residence, by Sena workers have been also brought to a halt by the police after a fire-cracker situation went out of hand, and tensions continue to rise as the BJP camp closes in.
Underworld Don's Daughter Wins From Byculla
Underworld don-turned-politician Arun Gawli’s daughter Geeta Gawli wins from ward 212 (Byculla) in Central Mumbai under the banner of the Akhil Bharatiya Sena (ABS). In 2012, ABS and Shiv Sena campaigned for the elections together and split ways for these polls.
Shiv Sena-BJP Workers Clash
According to reports, party workers of Shiv Sena and BJP are embroiled in a clash outside their Dadar headquarters.
Muslim Ward Votes for Shiv Sena For the First Time
For the first time in history, a Shiv Sena candidate, Haji Mohammad Halim Khan wins in ward number 96, a Muslim pocket Behrampada, Bandra. Shiv Sena is leading with 93 seats.
Behrampada is a Muslim-dominated slum area in Mumbai’s Bandra East. It was one of the epicentres of the violent communal riots of 1992-1993 that shook the city. During the riots, Shiv Sena had taken a clear-anti Muslim stance and played an active role in “inciting violence”, as indicted by the Srikrishna Commission.
Sanjay Nirupam Resigns
Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam resigns accepting moral responsibility of the party’s defeat in BMC elections. He demands action against Congress leaders who “acted against the party,” referring to Gurudas Kamat and Narayan Rane who had initially refused to campaign for the Congress party.
Congress is expected to get less than 30 seats in the BMC, a decline from 52 in 2012 to 75 in 2007.
Shiv Sena Leads in Mumbai, Thane; BJP Leads Elsewhere
Shiv Sena is now headed towards majority on its own in BMC, without any help from BJP. But BJP is gaining overall across Maharashtra, barring BMC and Thane. Congress seems all but wiped out from the state. Loss of Pune is harsh news for NCP, but winning in Pimpri-Chinchwad will have to suffice for the Pawars.
Nashik Slips From MNS' Grip?
Thane, MNS’ stronghold, where it won 44 seats in the previous election is turning out to be bad luck for the party. It has secured a lead only on one seat, compared to BJP’s 18-seat lead.
Shiv Sena Only Needs 53 Seats to Establish Majority
Out of BMC’s 227 seats, a party needs to win 114 seats to establish a clear majority. 19 years since it contested BMC elections without BJP, Shiv Sena is well on its way to becoming the single largest party, thanks to the Marathi Manus! In Thane too, Sena is ahead with leads in 25 wards.
Shiv Sena has successfully divided Mumbai along linguist lines and polarised Marathi votes by repeatedly saying that Mumbai will be removed from Maharashtra and Marathi Manus will be thrown out if Shiv Sena loses.
On the other hand, BJP tried to talk about issues by projecting Fadnavis as the face. Although he is clean, the Nagpur man is untested in Mumbai. If Marathi voters unitedly vote for Shiv Sena, it can emerge as the single largest party. Despite not talking about its work or real issues, Shiv Sena's emotional appeal and ground network seem to be working.
Meanwhile, BJP is making clear strides in Pune, Nagpur, Amravati, Solapur and Akola.
Where is Congress?
In BMC, Congress is leading only on 10 seats compared to Sena’s 55 and BJP’s 32 seats. In Pune, Congress has a lead on three seats and five in Solapur and Akola, while BJP and Shiv Sena are enjoying double digit leads. In Thane, Congress is leading only one seat, compared to Sen’a 20 seat lead.
BJP Sweeping Nagpur
BJP, on expected lines sweeping Nagpur.
- BJP: 16
- Cong: 1
- Shiv Sena: 0
- NCP: 0
It is also making gains in Pune, Nashik, Nagpur.
Dadar To See A Power Shift?
Dadar, the battleground between Shiv Sena and MNS has traditionally been the bastion of the MNS. This time all six Sena candidates are leading in Dadar currently. Is it time to beef up security in front of the two party offices across the road from each other?
Sena Roars Ahead
Shiv Sena is leading in 36 seats, while BJP has the lead in 24 seats. Congress and NCP are ahead in six and two seats respectively.
In Nagpur, BJP is leading in nine wards and Congress on one.
Shiv Sena Takes Lead in BMC
The Shiv Sena is leading on 29 seats, while BJP is trailing behind with leads in 19 seats. The trends seem to favour Sena, but there are a total of 227 seats up for grabs.
Pune Updates Come In
- BJP: 19
- NCP: 7
- Shiv Sena: 1
- Cong: 1
The PMC has traditionally been a stronghold of the NCP, but the party is having to fight the growing influence of BJP and its leader Modi in this student city, as well.
Shiv Sena Begins Celebrations
With a lead in six wards, the Shiv Sena has begun celebrations, according to India Today. Shiv Sena takes early lead on ward no 200 & 202, while BJP leads on ward no. 218.
Counting Has Begun
Counting has begin across Maharashtra and almost immediately BJP and Shiv Sena are neck-to-neck with two wins each!
It is a do-or-die fight for Shiv Sena, which has dominated Mumbai politics. BJP will need to emerge as a dominant force in Mumbai to win Maharashtra.
Counting for BMC and 9 Other Maharashtra Civic Bodies Today
The counting for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and nine other municipal corporation elections will start at 10 am. Official polling figures by the State Election Commission say the average voting in Tuesday’s polls was 56.40%, against 48.59% in 2012. Mumbai saw the highest voter turnout of 55.53%, the highest in the last 25 years.
Exit polls after Tuesday’s voting suggest:
- Shiv Sena will emerge as the single largest party with 86-92 seats
- BJP will be close to Sena with 82-88 seats
- Both parties are likely to get 32% votes each
- Congress is likely to get 16% votes and 30-34 seats
- MNS is likely to get 8% votes
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