The Congress has swept municipal elections in Maharashtra’s Nanded-Waghala today, winning 57 of 81 seats. The ruling BJP has won four and its ally the Shiv Sena has won a single seat.
Nanded is considered Congress turf. It is the home base of Congress state president and former chief minister Ashok Chavan and the party has dominated the municipal corporation since it was formed two decades ago.
The BJP, on an upswing in Maharashtra since its big wins in the 2014 national and state elections, hoped to change that. An aggressive campaign saw a bitter war of between the BJP, the Congress and the Shiv Sena.
The AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen), which had 11 corporators in the outgoing civic body, has been routed. The Congress had 41, the Shiv Sena had 14 and the Nationalist Congress Party’s 10. The BJP had no seats in the last election.
