BJP appoints Bawankule as in-charge for Maharashtra local body polls

Mumbai: The BJP on Tuesday appointed Maharashtra Minister and senior leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule as the party's in-charge for the upcoming local body polls in the state, which are being held after six years.

State BJP president Ravindra Chavan announced the decision during a meeting in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The ruling Mahayuti alliance would secure 51 per cent of the votes and sweep the elections with a two-thirds majority across the state, Bawankule said in the meeting.

"We will ensure the Mahayuti wins all elections in Maharashtra, including municipal corporations, zilla parishads, municipal councils and nagar panchayats, with an overwhelming majority," he said.

Fadnavis instructed district in-charges to focus on coordination within the Mahayuti alliance and refrain from criticising partner parties.

Bawankule said that a three-member coordination committee, comprising one minister each from the BJP, Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party, would be formed in every district to ensure smooth cooperation within the alliance.

"We will make sure that there are no differences or disputes among Mahayuti partners," he added.

The State Election Commission last week announced that elections for 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats will be held on December 2, and counting of votes will take place on December 3. The polls, to be conducted using EVMs, will elect 6,859 members and 288 council presidents.

A total of 1.7 crore eligible voters, including 53.8 lakh men, 53.2 lakh women, and 775 others, will exercise their franchise across 13,355 polling centres and 3,820 wards. Of the total seats, 3,492 are reserved for women, 895 for Scheduled Castes, 338 for Scheduled Tribes, and 1,821 for OBCs.