Congress ousted from Kolhapur too as Mahayuti storms to power for the first time in KMC history

The Congress had ruled Kolhapur Municipal Corporation for 25 years. Though the KMC came into being in 1972, the elections were not fought on party symbols. They were sponsored by political parties. It was Congress which had ruled all along.

Out of the 81 seats, the Congress bagged 35, BJP 25, Shiv Sena 15 and NCP. The Mahayuti had jointly fought the elections.

In the Western Maharashtra, Kolhapur was the only city where the Congress was banking heavily to return to power. In Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Ahilyanagar, Satara, the Congress has almost being decimated.

Patil said though they lost power, their fight will continue. ”We will continue to fight for the people of Kolhapur…We will keep the KMC on its toes and keep raising people’s issues from time to time. We will continue to stand by the people of Kolhapur. Our fight will continue,” he said.

Patil said at least in two prabhags, they made a mistake while allotting seat to their alliance partner, Shiv Sena (UBT). ”I think we made some mistakes. Otherwise, we would have returned to power…,” he said.

After the results, there were speculations that NCP and Congress would come together. However, NCP Minister Hassan Mushrif discounted any such possibility. ”We will remain with the Mahayuti,” he told reporters.

BJP MP Dhananjay Mahadik said, ”In the past, BJP used to have only one corporator. This success is a big one for the party. We will have our own mayor…I had said the Congress will sit at home after January 15. My words have come true…Whatever is happening in Delhi is happening at the local level as well,” he said.

Among the winners in KMC poll include Rajesh Latkar, Ruturaj Kshirsagar, son of MLA Rajesh Kshirsagar, Satyajit Jadhav, son of MLA Jayshree Jadhav, Ashkin Aajrekar, won of former mayor Nilofer Aajrekar and NCP city chief Aadil Faras.

The big losers include former BJP city chief Rahul Chikode, Prakash Naiknaware and Ajit More.

In Ichalkaranji Municipal Corporation, the Mahayuti secured majority by winning 47 seats. BJP emerged as the single largest party with 43 seats. The Shiv Shahu Vikas Aghadi secured 17 votes while Shinde Sena won 3 and NCP won only one seat. The IMC had 16 prabhags and as many as 230 candidates were in fray.