Mumbai, Feb 9 The ruling Mahayuti achieved a decisive victory in the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections across Maharashtra, with the BJP securing the most seats. The results, announced on Monday, continued the winning momentum that began with a strong performance in the 2024 assembly elections.
The Mahayuti won 552 out of 731 ZP seats and over 1,000 out of 1,462 Panchayat Samiti seats, according to the State Election Commission.
Within the Mahayuti, the BJP secured 225 ZP seats, followed by 165 for the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and 162 for the Shiv Sena.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people of Maharashtra for supporting the BJP-led Mahayuti in the Zilla Parishad elections, describing it as a vote of confidence in "good governance."
"Once again, Maharashtra has shown its support for the BJP and the Mahayuti! Following the successful performance of the BJP and the Mahayuti in the Municipal Corporation and Municipal Council elections, the people of Maharashtra have given us a strong mandate in the Zilla Parishad elections," Modi stated in a post on X.
In the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, the Congress emerged as the leading party with 55 ZP seats, followed by 43 for the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and 26 for the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP). The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) secured a seat each in Latur and Ratnagiri.
Independent candidates won 20 seats, and unrecognized parties registered with the SEC gained 14, while parties registered with the SEC won seven seats.
The February 7 elections to 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis saw a voter turnout of 68.28 per cent.
Polling took place in the districts of Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani, Dharashiv, and Latur.
In the first election after the death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, his party, the NCP, retained the Pune Zilla Parishad by winning 51 out of 73 seats.
The NCP and NCP (Sharad Chandra Pawar) contested under the 'clock' symbol.
The Shiv Sena, led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, won the Raigad Zilla Parishad, securing 23 out of 59 seats. The party also won 41 out of 56 seats in the Ratnagiri Zilla Parishad.
The BJP secured 27 out of 50 seats in Sindhudurg district. It also emerged as the single largest party in Satara, Solapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani, Dharashiv, Satara, and Latur.
The Congress was the single largest party in Kolhapur.
In the 1,462 seats in 125 Panchayat Samitis, the BJP won 459, followed by 306 for the NCP, and 302 for the Shiv Sena.
The Congress won 97, NCP (SP) 46, and Shiv Sena (UBT) 89 seats.
The MNS won two seats, while independent candidates secured 31, unrecognized parties registered with the SEC got 36, and parties registered with the SEC won 17 seats, according to the poll body.
Results for 24 seats in Karad were awaited.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated that the BJP has emerged as the leading party in urban, semi-urban, and rural Maharashtra.
He said the poll outcome indicates that people have once again expressed confidence in the Mahayuti alliance.
"They mistakenly believe that their political aspirations align with the aspirations of the people, and that is why they lose. The opposition has lost the will to fight. When they criticize PM Modi, they lose because the people don't appreciate such criticism," he added.
State BJP president Ravindra Chavan said the Mahayuti's performance reflects PM Modi's policies and vision, which have made the lives of residents in urban, semi-urban, and rural areas easier.
He said people in the Konkan region, traditionally a stronghold of the Thackeray family, have supported the BJP-led Mahayuti.
"People have expressed their gratitude through their votes for the work done by Fadnavis, Shinde, and late Ajit Pawar," Chavan said, emphasizing that the ruling alliance contested the elections on development issues and received a positive response.
Maharashtra NCP president Sunil Tatkare said the poll results are a tribute paid by the people to the late Ajit Pawar, who was killed in a plane crash on January 28 in Baramati.
"Ajit Pawar spent his entire life working for the development of the common people and strengthening grassroots governance. The results reflect the people's deep faith in his ideas and leadership," Tatkare said.
Deputy Chief Minister Shinde said the people's trust in the party has increased, and its base in the rural areas has strengthened.
He said the Shiv Sena has achieved a hat-trick of victories in the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections after its success in the municipal council, nagar panchayat, and municipal corporation elections.
He said the party's victory in Ratnagiri, Raigad, and Sindhudurg once again proves that the people of Konkan are behind the Shiv Sena.
The dream of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray to take the party to every village is being realised, Shinde added.
In Dharashiv district, Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Amar Samudre defeated his BJP rival Nihal Qazi by just one vote to secure a seat in the Dhoki Panchayat Samiti.
Samudre secured a total of 3,187 votes while Qazi got 3,186, including three votes from postal ballots, an official said.
Another instance of a narrow margin victory was reported from Latur, where a Congress candidate won the Zilla Parishad polls by two votes.
Congress candidate Asha Bhise, who received 6,871 votes, defeated her sister-in-law and BJP candidate Sarita Bhise, who garnered 6,869 votes, in the Kamkheda Zilla Parishad group election in Renapur tehsil, an official said.
Another highlight was the defeat of four out of five kin of former Maharashtra minister Suresh Warpudkar in the Zilla Parishad polls in Parbhani.
Warpudkar, who was a Congress MLA for three terms, joined the BJP in 2025. He was a state minister for agriculture between 2008 and 2009.
The official said Warpudkar's daughter Sonal Deshmukh, son Samsher Warpudkar, daughter-in-law Prerna Warpudkar, nephew Utkarsh Warpudkar, and Ajit Warpudkar contested the polls.
NCP (SP) leader and former Maharashtra minister Jayant Patil said the Sharad Pawar-led fold has emerged as the single largest party in the Sangli Zilla Parishad, clinching 18 seats.