The ruling Shiv Sena-BJP alliance on Thursday recaptured power in the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), while the Sharad Pawar-led NCP appeared poised to regain control of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) with the support of some independents. On a day when All India Majlis—e—Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) made its presence felt in the erstwhile Mughal city of Aurangabad by bagging 23 seats in the local civic body, the Sena-BJP alliance rode to power in the 111-member AMC by winning as many as 58 seats.
Among the political parties in the State, the Shiv Sena came up trumps in the local body polls. While it recaptured power in alliance with the BJP in AMC, the Shiv Sena captured power in the Ambernath Municipal Council and returned to power in alliance with the BJP. In what came as a relief to former Chief Minister and current State party chief Ashok Chavan, the Congress retained power comfortably in the Bhokar Municipal Council — which forms a part of his erstwhile Assembly seat of Bhokar. His wife Amita Chavan is currently an MlA from Bhokar constituency, while he is an MP from Nanded constituency.
While the Shiv Sena and its alliance partner BJP won 35 and 23 seats respectively in the AMC, the MIM emerged as the Opposition in the civic body with tally of 23 seats, followed by the Congress ( 10), BSP (5), NCP (3) and RPI –Democratic (2) and Independents (12). The NCP, fighting the NMMC polls under the leadership of former Minister Ganesh Naik, redeemed itself by emerging as the single largest party with 53 seats in the 111-member civic body, followed by the Sena (37), its alliance partner BJP (6), Congress (10) and Independents (5),
Talking to mediapersons after the NMMC polls, Naik said, “We were expecting to either reach or cross the magical number of 56 in the civic body. We may have fallen three seats short of majority, but we have succeeded in regaining power in the NMC. We are expecting the support of at least three to four independent corporators”. Though the NCP does not need the support of any other party to regain control over the NMMC, it reached out its erstwhile alliance partner, Congress, and asked the latter to become a part of the ruling alliance in the civic body. “We do not need the support of the Congress, but we have asked them to be a pat of the ruling coalition in the NMMC,” Naik said.