In Mumbai, where the Shiv Sena-BJP combine pulled out all stops to retain power in India's richest civic body, the voting percentage was better than that in the last polls.
Six decades and more later, we are now captives of our identities. Every poll is based on elaborate calculations of electability of candidates on the basis of their castes and other narrow definers. That, along with voter promiscuity, is what defines our political culture, which remains stubbornly resistant to any change, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
After an apparent truce between AAP and the BJP following the Delhi polls, sparks are flying once again. Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
The results are being seen as a ringing endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies and a reflection of his unmatched popularity.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said the govt will extend a loan of Rs 551 crore to two civic bodies; and alleged a situation was being created through the ongoing strike to prepare grounds for imposition of central rule.
The COVID-19 tests will be started at every polling station in the containment zones of Delhi in a few days
About 56 per cent was the overall turnout for 10 municipal corporations across Maharashtra.
The truce, even if it is not permanence peace, will come under stress and test during the pending polls to rural local bodies in nine revenue districts and urban polls across the state, including those for 16 municipal corporations, starting with Chennai, the oldest and largest, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction on Tuesday claimed the Bharatiya Jantea Party candidate Murji Patel withdrew from the Andheri East Assembly bypoll contest after realising that his defeat was imminent.
The February 16 polls are clearly a precursor to the big fight in the state in 2014. Neerja Chowdhury analyses
A total of 3.32 crore voters will be eligible to cast their ballots at 36,269 polling booths and 11,389 polling stations.
Posters featuring Fadnavis and declaring 'ha shabda maza ahe (this is my word)' have been put up all over Mumbai to counter Sena posters.
Shiv Sena on Monday emerged the single largest party in the bitterly fought Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation polls bagging 52 seats but fell short of a clear majority in the 122-member body, the battle for which had witnessed acrimony with ally Bharatiya Janata Party hitting a new low.
The apex court, which dismissed the pleas filed by the West Bengal government and the State Election Commission (SEC) challenging the high court order, said the tenor of the high court order was ultimately to ensure free and fair election in the state.
A dedicated party worker, who made his way up in the state politics from the municipality level, Patel was a surprise choice for the top post when the BJP decided to effect a regime change, replacing the entire ministry a year before the elections.
The polling started at 7 am and would continue till 5 pm.
Incumbent Deputy Mayor Aaley Mohammad Iqbal also got another term at the post, as BJP candidate Soni Pal withdrew her nomination. Iqbal and Pal were the two rival candidates for the post of deputy mayor.
An elated Aam Aadmi Party after winning the Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls on Thursday vowed to improve civic amenities in the national capital while the Bharatiya Janata Party thanked voters for "recognising" its work as it took solace in securing over a hundred seats despite exit poll predicting its rout.
A day after it emerged as the single largest party but fell short of a majority in Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday hinted at a truce with the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying whatever happens during polls is temporary.
The BJP asked voters in Gujarat to do "100 per cent voting for the son of the soil" Modi to take "revenge" in a democratic manner for the "insult"
The Shiv Sena split last month when more than two-thirds of the party's MLAs withdrew their support from the Maharashtra government led by Uddhav Thackeray, throwing their lot with Shinde.
Soumendu was recently removed from the administrator's post at the civic body by the Mamata Banerjee government.
With the Congress in power in the state and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) snapping at its heels, the BRS is now fighting an existential battle.
Maharashtra Congress leader and former Lok Sabha MP Milind Deora has demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into Rs 12,000 crore spent by Mumbai's civic body on road works between 2017 and 2022.
He defeated sitting Congress MLA Kanti Sodha Parmar in Anand, the home of world famous Amul dairy brand.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's brother Prahlad Modi staged a dharna at the Lucknow airport on Wednesday, alleging that police did not let his supporters reach there and took them into custody.
Ahead of the mayor's election, the Aam Aadmi Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress on Saturday alleged that attempts were being made to lure their newly elected Municipal Corporation of Delhi councillors.
Patel's elevation and his subsequent projection as chief ministerial face -- he is the first from the Kadva Patidar sub-group to be the chief minister -- is key to BJP's plans to woo the Kadva Patidar community, which some political observers feel, has drifted away from the party.
The BJP is set to make decisive gains in civic elections in Maharashtra even as it is locked in a neck-and-neck fight with its bickering ally Shiv Sena in Mumbai.
As per the final tally, of the total 81 seats, the Congress won 73, followed by the BJP which bagged six seats. The Shiv Sena just about managed to open its account with one seat, and an independent candidate won one seat.
An estimated 47 per cent voters exercised their franchise on Sunday in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation polls
The Bharatiya Janata Party swept three of the four wards in the Patparganj assembly segment and all three in the Shakur Basti constituency held by senior Aam Aadmi Party leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain -- both targets of sustained attacks over corruption by the saffron party -- in the MCD elections.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Monday asserted that the party's annual Dussehra rally will be held at the Shivaji Park in Mumbai.
According to political analysts, the results of these bypolls, which saw a high-voltage campaign by senior leaders from various parties, will set the tone for the forthcoming elections in the state, including of the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and other civic bodies.
Amidst reports of booth jamming and bomb throwing, an estimated 50% voters cast their ballots for the elections to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and two other civic bodies till noon.
One person was shot dead while another suffered bullet injury in Burdwan and North 24 Parganas districts as voting began in 91 municipalities across West Bengal on Saturday.
Party president said the decision to contest polls was taken so as not to keep the field open for the ruling coalition led by the PDP.
The Sena and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray labelled each other gaddar (traitor) after Shinde's rebellion split their original party last year, while Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis publicly asserted he had exacted revenge on Thackeray for his betrayal.
