MUMBAI, Jan 17 — Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has re-established his position as the primary architect of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s urban strategy in Maharashtra, leading the Mahayuti alliance to a landslide victory in the recent civic elections. The ruling coalition secured control over 25 of the 29 municipal corporations that went to the polls on January 15, including a historic win in Mumbai.
The election results, finalized on Friday, show the BJP alone is poised to install mayors in nearly 17 municipal bodies. This performance is widely viewed as a significant personal triumph for Fadnavis, who managed the campaign with minimal assistance from the party’s central leadership in New Delhi. High-profile figures, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, largely stayed away from the trail, leaving the Chief Minister to direct the strategy with a small team of close aides.
“The BJP offered a developmental agenda. We put it before the people, and they responded positively,” Fadnavis noted during a victory address at the party’s headquarters. He further mentioned that the record-breaking mandate in numerous corporations serves as proof that the electorate values honesty and infrastructure growth. “That is why people voted for the BJP,” he directly said.
The victory in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is particularly notable, as the alliance breached a long-standing fortress of the opposition. Local leaders such as Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam coordinated organizational efforts, while Cabinet Minister Girish Mahajan successfully steered the party to wins in Jalgaon and Nashik.
Fadnavis also utilized tactical inductions to weaken rivals, bringing in former Congress lawmakers like Kunal Patil and Kailas Gorantyal to secure wins in Dhule and Jalna. While the party faced setbacks in Amravati and Chandrapur, it successfully captured the Nanded-Waghala body with the support of former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.
This electoral success follows a challenging period for Fadnavis, who had offered to resign after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Having since led the party to a strong showing in the assembly elections and now the civic polls, his political judgment and leadership within the state appear more secure than ever.
