Fadnavis made light of the result, saying he had left it to the villagers whom they wanted as their sarpanch and did not appeal to vote for a specific candidate.
After claiming victory in the first round of Gram Panchayat elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suffered a setback of sorts in the second leg, with the Opposition triumphing over BJP candidates in villages adopted by Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis and Energy Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule.
In Phetari village near Nagpur, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) claimed Dhanashri Dhomane won against BJP's Jyoti Raut. It needs to be noted that Gram Panchayat elections are not contested on party symbols and the winning candidate is claimed by the party he or she is close to. Dhomane got 805 votes, while Raut got 710 votes. The result is significant as the village has been adopted by the CM under the Model Village Scheme.
Fadnavis made light of the result, saying he had left it to the villagers whom they wanted as their sarpanch and did not appeal to vote for a specific candidate.
Similarly, in Suradevi village in Vidarbha, Congress claimed victory against a candidate owing allegiance to BJP. Mukesh Dhomane, elected Sarpanch Danshri's husband, told DNA that anger against BJP-led government policies reflected in votes. "Farmers are not happy with the BJP government for the delay in the farm loan waiver," he said, "Unemployment is also a major issue in rural areas. People had hoped that the BJP government would bring some positive change in their lives, but nothing of sort happened. On the contrary, demonetisation and GST has adversely affected and worsened lives of peoples."
Ashok Chavan, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president, reiterated that the BJP was going on a return journey after Nanded. "This trend is now sweeping across Maharashtra, he said. "People have now realised that the BJP can only make tall promises, but it falters when it comes to fulfilment. People are losing jobs and inflation is also at an all-time high. Therefore, people want the Congress-NCP regime back."
Chavan further claimed that the Congress had got more seats and Sarpanch posts than any other party in the Grampanchayat elections. "Congress is the clear choice for the people; It has emerged the largest gainer in this Grampanchayat elections," he added.
NCP leader Ajit Pawar, too, attributed the turnaround in Congress-NCP fortunes to farmers' discontent, the section that was most affected by government policies. "The rise in minimum support price has not been substantial," Pawar told DNA. "When the BJP was in Opposition, they demanded Rs 7,000 per quintal as the rate for cotton. Even after three years in power, farmers are forced to sell their produce at much lower rate – between Rs 4,000 to Rs 4,500 per quintal. BJP has failed to fulfil its own promises. Therefore they are losing everywhere – from Gurudaspur in Punjab to villages in Vidharbha."
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