MUMBAI: Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) of Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP registered its first victory in Amrawati district of Western Vidarbha on Monday by winning two out of three Municipal Councils. The alliance also defeated the BJP in Parli in Beed in Sarpanch election.
The BJP could retain only Chandur Railway Municipal Council, while the MVA snatched Dhamangaon Railway and Tivsa municipal councils in Amravati district, state election commission officials said while announcing the results of the municipal election here on Monday. Elections were conducted on Sunday at these municipal councils.
The state election commission had also announced a program of conducting 108 village panchayat elections as well as byelections for various vacant posts. Some of these elections too were conducted yesterday and results were announced today. The MVA its sarpanch candidate defeated BJP candidate of Parli in Beed.
MVA candidate Ashrubai Kirawale defeated BJP’s Ashabai Chopade in a poll held for the post of sarpanch in Sirsala village on Sunday, some 480 kilometres from here.
Parli was the centre of a fierce Assembly fight between BJP’s Pankaja Munde, then a minister in the Devendra Fadnavis government, and NCP’s senior leader Dhananjay Munde. Despite rallies addressed by bigwigs of the BJP, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pankaja, daughter of late stalwart Gopinath Munde, lost to her cousin Dhananjay.
In a statement after the MVA candidate’s victory, Dhananjay Munde said, “Sirsala is the biggest gram panchayat in entire Parli tehsil. The bypolls for the post of sarpanch were held yesterday and results are out today. It would first such victory of MVA.”
“Kirawale won the seat by a margin of 1395 votes over Chopade,” the statement added.
The MVA came into being after the Sena broke its alliance with the BJP post Assembly results and joined hands with the Congress and NCP to form a government under Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Formula to contest all elections up to village panchayat level in the alliance was decided during the formation of MVA.