PUNE: BJP significantly expanded its reach in Maharashtra’s rural belt as it emerged as the single largest party in the zilla parishad and panchayat samiti elections in 12 districts, the results of which were announced on Monday. Elections were conducted for 731 ZP seats and 1,462 panchayat samiti seats on Saturday.In Pune rural, NCP swept the ZP elections, riding a public sympathy wave following Ajit Pawar’s sudden demise in a plane crash on Jan 28. The party won 51 of 73 seats in Pune district, securing the rural body for a fourth straight term.
BJP won the Solapur ZP poll with a clear majority, while in the Satara and Sangli ZPs, it will need the help of its Mahayuti partners. In the Kolhapur ZP, NCP has emerged as the single-largest party and may take BJP and Shiv Sena along to take charge. Congress has won 15 seats here and, altogether, has got 18 members elected, including the local fronts and independents the party supported. In Sangli, NCP (SP) has emerged as the single-largest party, winning 18 seats. MVA parties together won 30 seats in Sangli, just one short of the majority mark of 31.BJP also emerged as the leading party in the ZP elections in the Marathwada region, comprising Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani and Dharashiv districts. Congress secured the top position in Latur.Overall, the outcome highlighted a major setback for NCP, as well as Congress, both of which traditionally enjoyed strong support in rural areas and continued to dominate in the 2017 elections — held three years after the ‘Narendra Modi wave’ of 2014. In a notable shift, NCP, which had emerged as the single largest party in these districts in 2017, has now slipped to the second spot.Congress witnessed its seat tally drop by nearly half as compared to 2017. In Pune district, the party drew a blank in the ZP election this time around as compared to seven seats it won in the last election. A similar trend was visible in Sindhudurg, where Congress had won a decisive majority in 2017 by securing 27 of 50 seats, but did not win any this year.In a huge boost, BJP has nearly doubled its numbers, winning seats across all 12 districts, including several regions where it had minimal presence earlier. The party, which had secured 110 seats in 2017, has now crossed the 200-seat mark.According to the State Election Commission, NCP (undivided) had topped the ZP and panchayat samiti elections in 2017 across the 12 districts, winning 237 ZP seats and 419 panchayat samiti seats, followed by Shiv Sena (undivided) with 159 ZP and 300 panchayat samiti seats. This election, BJP has topped the list with 225 ZP seats and 459 panchayat samiti seats, followed by NCP (165 ZP and 306 panchayat samiti seats).BJP member Chandrashekhar Bawankule said BJP and its Mahayuti allies were poised to come to power in eight of the 11 ZPs. “These results show that voters are no longer swayed by personal attacks and instead support the development agenda we highlighted during the campaign,” he said.Political observers said it was no longer accurate to label BJP as an urban-centric party, as it has made deep inroads into rural regions through systematic outreach efforts. “While BJP is consistently engaging with voters, the opposition lacks similar visible efforts. Rural voters tend to support those who actively reach out to them,” an analyst said.
