Maharashtra zilla parishad polls: BJP wins Solapur, needs allies in Satara, Kolhapur; Congress gets Latur

KOLHAPUR: BJP has won the Solapur zilla parishad poll with a clear majority, while in Satara, Kolhapur and Sangli ZPs it will need the help of Mahayuti partners to take control.

In the Kolhapur zilla parishad, NCP has emerged as the single-largest party, and it may decide to take BJP and Shiv Sena along.

In the 68-seat Solapur zilla parishad (ZP), BJP has won 42 seats, Shiv Sena has bagged seven, and NCP has won nine seats. NCP here had an alliance with NCP (SP).

In Satara, meanwhile, NCP and Shiv Sena had an understanding. Though final results were awaited, by the evening, NCP had won 18 seats and Shiv Sena 15. BJP, which contested alone, won 19 seats and is likely to emerge as the single-largest party. The Satara ZP has 65 seats. Though all three Mahayuti parties here had come together for the polls, there was an agreement over sharing of the ZP president's post, unlike in Solapur, where BJP is in a position not to share.

In Sangli, NCP (SP) emerged as the single-largest party, winning 18 seats in the 61-member body. Maha Vikas Aghadi parties together won 30 seats — just one short of the majority mark of 31. MVA parties here had an understanding with NCP. Now, NCP is in a position of king-maker in Sangli ZP. The BJP and Shiv Sena combine won a total of 26 seats, and needs the help of NCP. However, it is likely that the MVA parties will not miss the opportunity to take charge of the ZP as they are so close to the majority mark.

"Since the results came out, I have been getting calls from both sides. We will sit together and discuss which side to go with," former MP and NCP politician Sanjaykaka Patil told TOI.

In Kolhapur, NCP has emerged as the single-largest party with 20 seats. Together with BJP and Shiv Sena, NCP will most likely hold power for five full years. Congress, under the leadership of MLC Satej Patil, won 15 seats and altogether had 18 members elected, including the local fronts and independents the party supported.

The performance by NCP, which was led by minister Hasan Mushrif, is credited to bringing NCP (SP) with it and fielding the candidates of NCP (SP), especially in three tehsils, on clock symbols, and roping in Rahul Patil of Congress into the party. Patil is a former ZP president and the son of late MLA P N Patil, who had a good influence in the Karvir tehsil.