BJP faces mixed results in Maharashtra council elections, prompting internal review
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The Mahayuti alliance leads in three of five contested seats, while the opposition MVA leads in two, sparking debate within the BJP over candidate selection and alliance coordination.
The recent council elections in Maharashtra showed the Mahayuti alliance ahead in three of the five constituencies, with the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leading in the remaining two. The BJP retained the Pune teachers’ seat and led in the Nagpur graduates’ contest, while the Shiv Sena was ahead in the Amravati teachers’ seat.
In the Nagpur graduates’ constituency, BJP candidate Sudhakar Kohale overtook Congress incumbent Abhijit Wanjari after a close second round, but the margin was narrow and an independent candidate, Nitesh Karale, captured a notable share of votes. Senior BJP leader Anil Sole publicly criticised the party’s internal decision-making process, alleging that local leaders were excluded from consultations. He briefly considered an independent run before withdrawing.
"Of the five seats, Mahayuti has three and the MVA two. The BJP is ahead in two of the three seats it contested. Why should this be seen as a setback or debacle?" – BJP spokesperson Navnath Ban.
The BJP’s performance in Pune’s graduates’ seat raised questions about candidate choice. Party insiders noted that the nominee, Smita Jadhav, was an outsider and lacked established support among party cadres, prompting calls for a reassessment of the selection process.
The NCP (SP) capitalised on the Pune result, with Harshada Deshmukh emerging as a leading figure. In the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar graduates’ constituency, internal differences within the Mahayuti alliance became apparent as NCP candidates Satish Chavan and Pratapsingh Patil vied for the lead, and Shiv Sena leader Abdul Sattar alleged that some of his party’s members were backing the NCP (SP) candidate.
Overall, 182 candidates contested across the five seats, with 1.068 million registered voters casting ballots at 2,419 polling stations. Voter turnout was recorded at 72.96 %.