MVA clinches president & VP posts in Sangli ZP, BJP wins in Solapur & Sambhajinagar

Kolhapur/Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: MVA, which won 30 seats — one short of a majority — secured backing from four NCP members of the Mahayuti to bag the Sangli ZP president and vice-president posts. In Sambhajinagar, BJP unexpectedly took both top posts despite earlier indications of a power-sharing arrangement with Shiv Sena. In Solapur, with a clear majority, BJP saw its candidates elected unopposed.Two Shiv Sena members abstained from voting in Sangli ZP, indirectly aiding the election of NCP (SP)'s Sangita Patil as president and Congress's Rushikesh Lad as vice-president. Lad is the nephew of Congress MLA Vishwajeet Kadam and grandson of late minister Patangrao Kadam. Both of them secured 34 votes, defeating Mahayuti nominees — BJP's Swapnali Masal and Shiv Sena's Himmat Jadhav.In last month's Sangli ZP election, NCP (SP) emerged as the largest party with 17 seats, followed by Congress (11) and Shiv Sena (UBT) (1). Meanwhile, BJP had won 16 seats, followed by Shiv Sena (7) and NCP (6). BJP's allies Rayat Kranti and Jansurajya Shakti Party secured one seat each, giving Mahayuti a theoretical total of 31.However, both NCP and Shiv Sena had contested against BJP in several seats, and NCP had informal seat-level understanding with MVA. This dynamic enabled MVA to draw support from four NCP members. The situation remained tense as top leaders from both alliances stayed in the ZP gallery to prevent any last-minute defections. Interestingly, NCP's Sanjaykaka Patil, initially believed to favour supporting MVA, ultimately remained with Mahayuti.Patil said he had hoped for a "miracle" but followed the directives of senior leaders, including the CM and both deputy CMs, to back Mahayuti candidates. NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil later claimed that Sanjaykaka Patil had been strategically sent to the Mahayuti camp at the last minute to gather crucial information that helped MVA in number management.In Solapur ZP, with BJP having secured 38 seats, the party faced no challenge, with candidates Deepak Vaidya and Indrajit Pawar elected unopposed as president and vice-president, respectively. Vaidya from Barshi tehsil benefited from the support of former MLA Rajendra Raut, who ensured BJP victories in all six ZP seats from his region. Pawar, the new vice-president, is the son of senior BJP leader Shivajirao Pawar from North Solapur tehsil.In Sambhajinagar ZP, BJP canidates Avinash Galande and Jitendra Jaiswal were elected unopposed as the president and vice-president, respectively, in an unexpected development. Although initial discussions indicated that BJP and Shiv Sena would share power in the ZP, BJP securing control independently with support from NCP and others has triggered sharp disagreements among Mahayuti local members.In the ZP election in Sambhajinagar, the pre-poll allies BJP and Shiv Sena had won 23 and 21 seats, respectively, of the 63-member House, giving them a comfortable majority to form the administration together. Among other parties, Shiv Sena (UBT) had secured nine seats, NCP won four, while Congress and NCP (SP) had bagged one seat each.Both BJP and Sena had accused each other of attempting to align with Shiv Sena (UBT). Amid swirling speculation, the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction decided to abstain from voting, effectively paving an easy path for BJP. Sena leaders subsequently boycotted the polls, leading to BJP candidates winning both posts unopposed.BJP cabinet minister Atul Save said Sena leaders had insisted that they would hold the first claim to the ZP president's post. "We won 23 seats, and two additional winning candidates joined us. Under such circumstances, Sena's demand was unreasonable. We asked their leaders to discuss the matter with CM Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CM Eknath Shinde," he said.Sena MLA Abdul Sattar, however, accused BJP of violating trust. "They assured us that our party would get the president's post, and we made preparations based on that understanding. After this setback caused by BJP, our leadership will decide the next steps," he said.In response, Save alleged that Sattar's personal ambition, to see his son become the president, derailed alliance talks. "We were ready to offer the vice-president's post to Sena and waited for their reply until morning. They believed they had secured the numbers and kept us in the dark," he added.