BJP was restricted with just four seats while Shiv Sena got a meagre two. The Congress, which had won 42 seats in the last elections, bagged 72 seats this time.
Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party registered victories in bypolls across state, it was in Nanded that the ruling party had to eat a humble pie. Of the 81 seats in Nanded Municipal Corporation, Congress won 72 seats under the leadership of former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.
"The downward journey of the BJP has begun from Nanded. The change of wind will spread across the Maharashtra and India as well," said a jubilant Chavan, president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress, after the massive victory on Thursday.
BJP was restricted with just four seats while Shiv Sena got a meagre two. The Congress, which had won 42 seats in the last elections, bagged 72 seats this time.
Chavan termed the victory as "unprecedented" and "historic" for the Congress. "People have shown their faith once again in the Congress leadership of Sonia ji and Rahul Gandhi. Nanded is my Lok Sabha constituency and we had done a lot of good work. This win is also that of the people of Nanded. We will try to repeat this winning formula across the Maharashtra and India as well," Chavan said.
"This massive win shows how people have lost faith in BJP and its empty, hollow promises and policies. The BJP-led Central and state governments have failed to meet the expectations of the people. Farmers faced monetary crisis due to demonetisation while the traders were exploited by heavy GST. Unemployment and inflation are on the rise. The BJP governments have only raised taxes and cut funds for welfare schemes and subsidies that resulted in this anger and defeat of the BJP," he said.
Chavan confessed that the party had not expected such a landslide win. "This mandate is historic. Opposition does not have enough numbers to get even the Leader of Opposition post in corporation," said Chavan.
Chavan also pointed out how BJP had neglected its own activists and leaders in ticket distribution. "Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis tried to make this campaign a high voltage one. But they neglected their own local BJP-RSS leaders. CM gave the BJP's campaign responsibility to Shiv Sena MLA Prataprao Chikalikar and a retired bureaucrat and the decision backfired. BJP also tried hard to polarise voters on the basis of caste and religion, but people rejected them completely," Chavan said.
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