Nanded Waghala municipality is the home turf of Maharashtra Congress president and former chief minister, Ashok Chavan. (File photo) Nanded Waghala municipality is the home turf of Maharashtra Congress president and former chief minister, Ashok Chavan. (File photo)

The Congress Party has managed to retain its control in the Nanded municipality. The home turf of Maharashtra’s former chief minister Ashok Chavan, the Nanded Waghala municipality recorded 60 per cent voter turn out on Wednesday. The election had at stake Chavan’s prestige in the area. The victory for the Congress party, currently in opposition, comes as a major setback for the BJP.

In its campaign, the BJP left no stone unturned and brought all its A-listers, including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, to ensure a win. Chavan too did not risk taking anything to chance and had parked himself in Nanded for the last three weeks. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also visited Nanded in the build-up to the polls.

Nanded is a Congress stronghold and the party had won 41 out of the 81 seats last time. Shiv Sena had secured 12 seats, followed by All India Majlis-e-Muslimeen with 11 seats. BJP had managed to add just two seats to their kitty. While the ruling party seems confident of a much improved performance this time, it still remains to be seen whether the party can dent the Maharashtra Congress chief president Chavan’s bastion.

The Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines have been used for the first time in the state in these elections. The Maharashtra Election Commission had planned to use these machines across 37 polling centres in one ward but the machines had to be withdrawn from a couple of polling centres due to technical glitches, officials informed. The machines could not be installed at four other centres, making 31 polling centres the final count for the use of machine on a pilot basis.

Nanded Municipal Corporation Election Results 2017 Live Updates:

2.20 pm: The Congress on Thursday retained its hold over the Nanded Waghala Municipal Corporation (NWMC). The campaign was led by former chief minister Ashok Chavan. The BJP barely managed to lead in just two seats while its ally the Shiv Sena could manage to win just one seat. In the previous body, the Congress had 41 members, NCP (10), Sena (15), MIM (11), BJP (2) and Samvidhan Party (2).

The return journey for Congress in Maharashtra has begun. Ashok Chavan preponderates #BJP in Nanded MC elections.Cong wipes out #BJP.

JaiHo pic.twitter.com/GjEOtvzprT — Maharashtra Congress (@INCMaharashtra) October 12, 2017

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