The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance recorded a decisive victory in the Maharashtra municipal council and nagar panchayat elections, with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party, while the Opposition Maha Vikas
Aghadi (MVA) alleged irregularities and bias by the election machinery.
Counting of votes for all 286 municipal councils and nagar panchayats began at 10 am on Sunday. The elections were held in two phases, with polling in 263 local bodies on December 2 and the remaining 23 councils and some vacant posts voting on Saturday following court-directed delays. The contests were largely seen as a direct face-off between the ruling Mahayuti and the Opposition MVA.
According to the Election Commission, the BJP won 127 councils, followed by the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena with 54 victories and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with 37, underlining the alliance’s strong foothold at the grassroots level.
The Opposition MVA trailed behind. The Congress secured 29 local bodies, while the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction secured six, and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP secured eight.
The local body elections, conducted after nearly a decade, were viewed as a key political test in semi-urban and rural Maharashtra.
Issues such as agrarian distress, delays in welfare payouts and farmers’ grievances were expected to give the Opposition an edge, but the results favoured the ruling alliance.
PM Modi Hails NDA Victory
Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the verdict, saying Maharashtra had reaffirmed its support for development-oriented politics.
In a post on X, Modi said the mandate reflected public trust in the BJP and the Mahayuti’s governance model and pledged to work with renewed commitment to meet people’s aspirations.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the BJP had created a record in the local body polls, with nearly 48 per cent of councillors elected on the party symbol and BJP-backed candidates securing the president’s post in 129 municipal councils.
He said around 3,300 BJP councillors were elected and Mahayuti nominees won the top post in nearly 75 per cent of local bodies, attributing the success to organisational strength and a development-focused agenda.
Union Minister and BJP president JP Nadda also congratulated NDA workers, describing the outcome as a historic endorsement of the “double-engine” government’s welfare policies under Modi’s leadership.
MVA Cries Foul
The Opposition, however, questioned the credibility of the process. The Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) accused the State Election Commission of facilitating the Mahayuti’s victory. State Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal congratulated party winners but alleged institutional bias.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut claimed the results were influenced by manipulation of electronic voting machines and the excessive use of money power.
He alleged that huge sums were spent in council elections with relatively small budgets, making it impossible for the Opposition to compete on equal footing.
NDA Sweeps Pune District
Meanwhile, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) also swept the Pune district local body polls, winning all 17 president posts across municipal councils and nagar panchayats.
The Ajit Pawar-led NCP emerged as the largest NDA constituent in the district with 10 president posts, followed by the Shiv Sena with four and the BJP with three, leaving the MVA without a single president’s post in the region.
