English
New Delhi, Feb 23: Commenting on the spectacular victory of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in municipal elections in Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday evening said that he is thankful to citizens of Maharashtra for choosing BJP in municipal elections. He tweeted, “Extremely thankful to the sisters & brothers of Maharashtra for reposing their faith in BJP and in politics of development & good governance.” He emphasised that after victory in municipal elections, BJP has emerged as a strong political force in rural and urban Maharashtra. He tweeted, “Through hard work, determination & work on the ground, BJP is now a strong force both in urban & rural Maharashtra. Congrats to Karyakartas”
Through hard work, determination & work on the ground, BJP is now a strong force both in urban & rural Maharashtra. Congrats to Karyakartas.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 23, 2017
Extremely thankful to the sisters & brothers of Maharashtra for reposing their faith in BJP & in politics of development & good governance.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 23, 2017
In an earlier development, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said that victory in Maharashtra municipal elections along with Panchayats elections in Odisha reflects the fact that Bharatiya Janta is capable of securing victory in big states. Commenting on the constant poor play by rival congress, he said, “Congress got squeezed out of contest.” He was referring to the disappointing results for the Congress in panchayat elections in Odisha. He further said that Congress has been pushed to the third and fourth position in most cities.
BJP has secured victory on 82 in BMC elections while Shiv Sena emerged as the largest party with the victory on 84 seats. However, Congress managed to win only 31 seats. National Congress Party emerged victorious on 9 seats. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by Raj Thackeray increased its tally with a win on 7 seats. Samajwadi Party gave a surprise to pollsters by winning 6 seats in municipal elections in Mumbai. AIMIM and independents secured victory on 3 and 4 respectively.
BJP also won Ulhasnagar, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik, Akola and Amravati municipalities. Defying trends in other municipalities, Shiv Sena succeeded in winning Thane municipal elections. However, the saffron party too suffered a rout in one of its bastions, Beed. After the humiliating defeat in the home district, Cabinet minister in Maharashtra Pankaja Munde offered her resignation.
Several political observers had termed municipal corporation elections as semi-final to assembly elections in Maharashtra scheduled to take place in 2019.
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