The BJP on Monday swept the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation elections in adjoining Thane district, winning 61 of the 95 seats, trouncing the bickering ally Shiv Sena and the opposition Congress and NCP. Shiv Sena, which had shared power with the BJP in the urban body, fell far behind the BJP. It, however, improved its tally from 15 in 2012 to 22. The two parties had this time contested the polls separately.
The biggest loser was the NCP which drew a blank. It had won 26 seats in 2012 polls.
The Congress's tally fell to 10 seats from 19 while Raj Thackeray-led MNS, which had one seat in the previous council, did not win a single seat this time.
The outcome marks the dominance of the BJP in civic polls in Maharashtra as the party had put up a splendid performance in rural and urban local bodies across the state in elections since last year. The BJP raised its tally sharply from its score of 32 in 2012.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis termed the results as a "huge win for BJP."
"Now, development is certain. We will certainly live up to the expectations of people," he tweeted. "Congratulations to leaders and karyakartas (workers) for spectacular win! I thank people of Mira-Bhayander for having faith in us! I assure speedy development."
"The election victory is because of wave of 'vishwas & vikas' created by PM Narendra Modi ji and team BJP's efforts!" he said.
A total of 509 candidates were in the fray for 95 seats, for which elections were held yesterday.
Mira-Bhayandar is the second municipal body to be won by the BJP in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), after its victory in Panvel a few months back.
