Devendra Fadnavis appreciates voters for helping BJP win 22 ZP seats in Maharashtra

After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 22 Zilla Parishad seats in local elections in six districts of Maharashtra, Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Devendra Fadnavis thanked voters for trusting the party. 

Taking to Twitter Fadnais wrote, "BJP emerges as the Number 1 party, once again! (sic)"

On Tuesday, by-elections were held for 84 empty seats in six Zilla Parishads (ZPs) - Dhule, Nandurbar, Akola, Washim, Nagpur, Palghar - as well as 141 seats in 37 Panchayat Samitis that fall under the jurisdiction of these districts. Unopposed candidates were elected in one ZP seat and three Panchayat Samiti wards (total 144).

BJP wins 22 seats in Zilla Parishad elections 

According to the results issued by the State Election Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, the BJP won 22 of 85 Zilla Parishad seats across half a dozen Maharashtra districts where by-polls were held, while the Congress won 36 of the 144 Panchayat Samiti seats. 

The BJP won 22 of the 85 seats on offer in six ZPs, while the Congress, NCP, and Shiv Sena - all constituents of the ruling MVA - won 19, 15, and 12 seats, respectively. Independents won four seats, the CPI (M) one, and others got 12 seats. According to the SEC results, Congress won 36 of the 144 seats in Panchayat Samiti polls, followed by the BJP with 33, the Shiv Sena with 23, and the NCP with 18.

73 Panchayat Samiti seats gained by MVA

Independent candidates won seven Panchayat Samiti seats, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena won one, and other registered parties gained 26. Seventy-three of the 144 Panchayat Samiti seats were gained by MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) allies.

In the by-polls, there were 367 candidates for ZP seats and 555 candidates for Panchayat Samiti seats, with voter turnout hovering around 63%. Following a Supreme Court judgement on quotas for OBCs in local authorities, by-elections were required. Despite contesting the by-polls separately, the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies won 46 ZP seats this time, compared to 37 the previous time. The Maharashtra State Election Commission declared byelections for six ZPs and the panchayat samitis under them last month for seats that became vacant as a result of the Supreme Court's decision.

(Image: PTI)