BJP Wins Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Civic Polls With Clear Majority Of 58 Seats | Sourced
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Amid allegations of bogus voting, money distribution and duplicate voting, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a single-handed victory in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) elections 2025-26 by winning 58 seats.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), as expected, made a strong comeback and finished second with 33 seats. The Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), despite pre-poll claims of a strong showing, was restricted to 12 seats.
The Congress won just one seat after its alliance with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) failed to materialise and both parties contested independently. The VBA secured eight seats. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction), which had also projected a strong performance, managed only six seats, while the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) won one seat.
The BJP and the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) contested the elections independently after failing to arrive at an alliance. The BJP established a clear lead from the early rounds of counting, while the Shiv Sena failed to make a significant impact. In Muslim-dominated areas, the AIMIM maintained dominance from the outset.
In all, 859 candidates were in the fray for 115 seats, with an overall voter turnout of around 59%. The BJP contested the elections under the leadership of minister Atul Save, while the Shiv Sena was led by District Guardian Minister Sanjay Shirsat. The political standing of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve and AIMIM state president Imtiyaz Jaleel was also at stake, making the polls a prestige battle for several leaders.
A strict police bandobast was deployed at all four counting centres. However, VBA activists created a ruckus by entering the Garware IT Park counting centre in the Chikalthana MIDC area, alleging irregularities in the counting process. Police resorted to a mild lathi charge to disperse the crowd and restore order.
CSMC election tally
BJP – 58
AIMIM – 33
Shiv Sena – 12
Shiv Sena (UBT) – 06
NCP (SP) – 01
Congress – 01
VBA – 04
Total 115
