Local body polls: MVA frontrunner Congress claims it has emerged as main opposition in Maharashtra

Mumbai, Dec 22 (PTI) The Maharashtra Congress on Monday said it has won 41 municipal council president posts and 1006 councillor seats in local body polls, adding it had emerged as the principal opposition in the state by standing firm against immense money power, the might of authority and thuggery.

The 41 include seven candidates from local fronts supported by the Congress, the party said in a statement.

Of the 1006 councillors, 154 are independents supported by the Congress, the statement added.

In results declared on Sunday, the Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP swept the elections to 288 municipal councils and nagar panchayats, winning 207 president posts in the local bodies. The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi could come up with a collective tally of 44.

According to the SEC, the BJP won 117 posts of municipal presidents, Shiv Sena won 53, and the NCP won 37 posts. The Congress bagged 28, the NCP (SP) seven, and Shiv Sena (UBT) nine.

The SEC, however, is yet to provide a list of councillors elected from every party.

The SEC said unrecognised parties registered with it have won 28 municipal president posts, while independents have bagged five.

While the Congress failed to win a single seat in Nandurbar district, it performed best in Chandrapur where the party won president posts in eight municipal councils and 129 councillors were elected.

In north Maharashtra, the Congress has bagged municipal presidents posts in Dhule and Ahilyanagar, while 47 candidates were elected as councillors in the region's five districts, the party said.

In Amravati division, the party won nine municipal presidents posts and 236 councillor seats, while in Nagpur division, it got 14 municipal president posts and 340 councillor seats.

Marathwada division saw the Congress winning five municipal presidents posts and 156 councillor seats, while its bagged three municipal council president posts and 47 councillor seats in western Maharashtra.

In Konkan division, the Congress said it has won the municipal president post in Ratnagiri and 26 councillor seats in five districts of the region.

"In such difficult times, by standing firm against immense money power, the might of authority and thuggery, the Congress has emerged as the principal opposition in the state. Ultimately, the fight is about ideology and Congress is fighting for it," the party's state unit spokesperson Sachin Sawant said. PTI MR BNM