Congress set to retain Nanded municipal poll, wins 15 seats

The Congress on Thursday appeared set to retain the Nanded News -Waghala City Municipal Corporation (NWCMC), a stronghold of state party chief Ashok Chavan, bagging 15 of the 16 results announced so far for the 81-seat civic body.

The Congress has also built strong leads in 33 seats in the NWCMC, which is now one of the last surviving bastions of the party in the state. Election to the civic body were held on Wednesday.

Its main rival, Bharatiya Janata Party trailed far behind - bagging just one seat and notching leads in another four.

The Shiv Sena was leading in two and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) was ahead in one seat.

The Congress' partner National Congress Party failed to secure any lead as per the ongoing vote count at 1 p.m., a State Election Commission (SEC) official said.

Both, the Congress and BJP had made it a battle of prestige to wrest control over the civic body in the city renowned for the Hazoor Sahib Gurudwara, which is one of the five holy Sikh Takhts and the resting place of the legendary Sikh spiritual leader, Guru Gobind Singh.

For the first time in the state, the SEC has deployed VVPAT (voter-verified paper audit trail) voting machines in 31 polling centres in Ward No. 2 as a pilot project in the elections which recorded a 65 per cent turnout on Wednesday.

The Congress on Thursday bagged the prestigious Nanded-Waghala City Municipal Corporation (NWCMC), bagging 43 of the 46 seats in the 81-seat body for which results have been declared and crushing the opposition.

The Congress also built up strong leads in at least another 20 seats in the NWCMC, a stronghold of Maharashtra party chief Ashok Chavan and one of the last surviving bastions of the party in the state. Elections to the civic body were held on Wednesday.

The Congress not only retained the civic body but also improved its tally compared to 2012 when it secured 41 seats, proving to be a morale-booster for the party reeling under a saffron onslaught.

The opposition led by the main rivals, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena, was virtually wiped out. The two parties notched just one seat each and one seat was bagged by an independent even as the vote count continued.

Another prominent contender, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which was earlier leading in one seat, was overtaken by the Congress in this famed Sikh pilgrimage centre.

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