BMC Elections: Shiv Sena-BJP Scramble For Independents To Secure Lead

• The BJP is four seats away from securing a majority in the 162-seat Pune Municipal Corporation. Out of the leads for 158 seats, the BJP leads in 77 of them. The NCP is a distant second with 44 while the Shiv Sena has 10 seats to its name.
• The BJP continues to lead in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' pocket borrough Nagpur. Out of the 82 leads so far, the party is leading in 58 seats.
• The BJP has taken a comfortable lead in the128-seat Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. The party leads on 38 seats while the NCP sits in second place with 19 out of the 65 leads emerging so far.
• The Shiv Sena is currently in a comfortable position in the Thane Municipal Corporation, leading in 51 seats out of the 99 leads so far. The BJP is ahead on 17 while the Congress has two seats to its name
• The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena is set to lose its only hope in the form of the Nashik Municipal Corporation. The incumbent party is only leading on 3 seats out of the 102 leads so far. The BJP leads on 51 seats while the Shiv Sena leads on 33.
• The BJP also leads in Ulhasnagar. The 67 leads so far sees them leading on 33 seats while the Shiv Sena leads on 21. The party also maintained its lead in Akola and Amravati.
• Its a blow to former Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde as the BJP are in a comfortable lead in his backyard of Solapur. The BJP leads in 47 seats out of the 87 leads so far, four away from securing a majority in the 102-seat body.

The Bharatiya Janta Party has claimed to have emerged as the single largest party in the BMC polls. The Mumbai BJP chief said that the party has support of four independent candidates, taking their total tally to 85 compared to Shiv Sena's 84. The Sena too has claimed to have the support of the four independents.

Maharashtra's minister for Rural Development, Women and Child Welfare Pankaja Munde suffered a setback after the BJP lost the Zilla Parishad polls in the traditional Munde stronghold of Parli and Beed. A faction led by her estranged cousin and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde won all the six seats in the Beed Zilla Parishad.

• The BJP leads in 74 out of the 147 leads in the 162-seat Pune Municipal Corporation. The NCP is a distant second with 36 seats while the Shiv Sena is leading on 10 seats.
• The BJP is also leading in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' pocket borrough Nagpur. Out of the 62 leads so far, the party is leading in 48 seats.
• The BJP has taken a comfortable lead in the128-seat Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. The party leads on 31 seats while the NCP sits second with 22 out of the 60 leads emerging so far.
• The Shiv Sena is currently in a comfortable position in the Thane Municipal Corporation, leading in 36 seats out of the 66 leads so far. The BJP is ahead on 15 while the Congress has not opened its account yet.
• The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena is set to lose its only hope in the form of the Nashik Municipal Corporation. The incumbent party is only leading on 3 seats out of the 81 leads so far. The BJP leads on 40 seats while the Shiv Sena leads on 22.
• The BJP also leads in Ulhasnagar. The 47 leads so far sees them leading on 24 seats while the Shiv Sena leads on 16. The party also maintained its lead in Akola and Amravati.
• The Shiv Sena and the BJP are battling it out in Solapur, a traditional Congress stronghold. While the BJP is ahead on 28 seats, the Sena leads on 20.

• The BJP leads in 54 out of the 114 leads in the 162-seat Pune Municipal Corporation. The NCP is a distant second with 29 seats while the Shiv Sena is leading on nine seats
• The BJP is also leading in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' pocket borrough Nagpur. Out of the 58 leads so far, the party is leading in 44 seats.
• Its a fight to the finish in the 128-seat Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation where the NCP and the BJP are leading on 22 and 21 seats respectively out of the 50 leads emerging so far.
• The Shiv Sena is currently in a comfortable position in the Thane Municipal Corporation, leading in 28 seats out of the 54 leads so far. The BJP is ahead on 11 while the Congress has not opened its account yet.
• The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena is set to lose its only hope in the form of the Nashik Municipal Corporation. The incumbent party is only leading on a solitary seat out of the 42 leads so far. The BJP leads on 22 seats while the Shiv Sena leads on 13.
• The BJP also leads in Ulhasnagar. The 46 leads so far sees them leading on 21 seats while the Shiv Sena leads on 15. The party also maintained its lead in Akola and Amravati.
• The Shiv Sena and the BJP are battling it out in Solapur, a traditional Congress stronghold. While the BJP is ahead on 24 seats, the Sena leads on 20.

Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) made its debut in the BMC polls by winning two seats. The seats won were in Cheeta Camp and in Byculla. Sitting MLA from Byculla Waris Pathan also hails from the party.

The Congress had won 52 seats in the 2012 polls while the tally in 2007 was 75.

Mumbai-based realtor Parag Shah, who contested on a BJP ticket, defeated Congress leader Pravin Chheda from ward 132 in Ghatkopar. Shah had declared assets worth Rs 690 crore in his election nomination form. Shah is the owner of Man Infraconstruction, which is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. As of 1 P.M., shares of Man Infraconstruction Ltd. were trading higher by 3.45 percent at Rs 40.60.

Relatives of many BJP leaders have faced defeat in the polls this time around. While Vinod Shelar, brother of the party’s Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar, lost in ward 51 to Shiv Sena’s Swapnil Tembwalkar, Ritu Tawde, wife of state education minister Vinod Tawde lost from ward 127 to Shiv Sena's Suresh Patil.

The BJP may currently losing to its former alliance partner, the Shiv Sena in Mumbai, but its individual tally may double, if it can convert the leads to wins. The party is also leading in the municipal corporations of Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Solapur, Akola and Amravati.

The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party is currently leading in Pimpri-Chinchwad, while the Shiv Sena is leading the way in the Thane Municipal Corporation.