Pune (Maharashtra) [India], December 22 (ANI): After the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra registered a decisive victory in the local body elections, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale termed it a 'great success,' saying that the coalition has secured a good result in the entire municipal polls.

'The Mahayuti has achieved a great success and it has secured a very good result in the entire municipal election... The mayor of Mumbai and Pune will be from the Mahayuti, and the Mahayuti will achieve 90% success everywhere... We should get 14-15 seats; that is what we are striving for,' Athawale told reporters.

In response to the results, Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC said that the results clearly demonstrated public endorsement of the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Speaking to ANI, the Shiv Sena leader said, 'In the 2017 local body elections, the Shiv Sena had only 27 mayors. In 2025, we won at more than 60 locations and are hopeful of winning at nearly 70. This is due to the leadership of Dy CM Eknath Shinde, who has campaigned tirelessly on the ground. People have chosen to vote on development and not on surnames. Those who believe they can conduct their politics from home have been required to remain at home. In this election, it has been proven that only the politics of performance works.'

Echoing similar sentiments, Maharashtra Minister Girish Mahajan stated, 'There have been elections for the Nagar Panchayat in 18 places. Of those 18 places, the BJP has won in 10... We have got a very good result here. The voters have also supported us. There are many reasons for losing the elections... People have different opinions... But we have accepted defeat where we have not won... The Chief Minister has been to all the big cities in every district, and we have won everywhere.'

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya highlighted numerical gains, saying, 'In the municipal council elections in Maharashtra, the BJP secured a majority in 129 seats, while Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena managed to get a majority in only eight municipal corporations. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections are on January 15th; this is what the situation will be like for Uddhav Thackeray and the other younger Thackeray who has joined him.'

At the grassroots level, Shiv Sena candidate Om Prakash Khursaday, who won the Malegaon Nagar Panchayat election in Washim district, said, 'This victory belongs to the people who blessed us with their votes. Our leader, Eknath Shinde, arrived here before the election to attend a meeting. This victory belongs to the people more than us.'

In Baramati, the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) winning candidate, Sachin Satav, thanked voters for a decisive mandate, saying, 'The people of Baramati have elected me with a huge majority today, but this victory comes with a great responsibility. For the next five years, under the guidance of Dy CM Ajit Pawar, we will work for the overall development of the entire city...'

Reacting to the results, state minister Sanjay Shirsat said the polls reflected the hard work of party workers.

He said, 'These are elections of the workers... The remarkable thing was that Dy CM Eknath Shinde worked diligently every day during the election campaign. We admit that we weren't fully prepared; if we had started planning a few days earlier, we could have won more seats.'

Earlier on Sunday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis thanked the people of the state for placing their trust in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Mahayuti alliance, and for giving them a decisive victory in the recently concluded local body polls.

'First of all, I thank the people of Maharashtra. The people of the state have given massive support to the BJP and the Mahayuti. I had already predicted that, among the municipal council chairpersons elected, 75% would be from the Mahayuti, and the people have delivered exactly that verdict. It has also become clear that the Bharatiya Janata Party is the number one party,' he said in a press conference in Nagpur.

He also congratulated his alliance partners, including Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, and the BJP leaders on the party's performance.

Elections on 286 Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats were held in two phases, as some councils went to polls on December 2, while the remaining cast their votes on December 20.

Multiple key local bodies, including Baramati, Ambernath, went to polls. Two councils saw candidates being elected unopposed too, in Angar in Solapur and Dondaicha in Dhule.

Around 129 municipal council chairpersons have been elected from the BJP. Together, all three alliance parties (Shiv Sena, BJP, and NCP (Ajit Pawar) account for 75% of the city council chairpersons. In terms of corporators, over 3300 candidates of the BJP have been elected, according to Chief Minister Fadnavis. (ANI)