Despite the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) attempts to dominate Maharashtra's local body elections, a significant blow was dealt in the Loha Municipal Council area of Nanded where they fielded six candidates from a single family. Here, Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) emerged victorious by defeating all six BJP candidates. The stakes were high with 20 councilor positions and the mayoral seat up for grabs. Notably, Ajit Pawar's NCP is part of the grand coalition government led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Pawar himself serves as the Deputy CM.
The BJP placed its bets on influential leader Gajanan Suryawanshi for the mayoral post, but he was bested by the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) candidate. Interestingly, the victorious NCP candidate shares a name with Sharad Pawar. Also defeated were Gajanan Suryawanshi's wife, Godavari Suryawanshi; his brother, Sachin Suryawanshi; sister-in-law, Supriya Suryawanshi; brother-in-law, Yuvraj Waghmare; and nephew’s wife, Reena Vyawahare. The NCP maintained dominance in the Loha Municipal Council, winning 17 of the councilor posts, while the BJP, Shiv Sena (UBT), and Congress each managed to secure only one seat.
The BJP's pre-election decision to put forward six candidates from one family sparked controversy. It was criticized not only by the opposing Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition but also found unfavorable by allies like Ajit Pawar's NCP. NCP leader Pratapsrao Govindrao Chikhalikar commented that BJP’s inability to find enough candidates in the area led them to field six members from a single family. The MVA ridiculed it as 'dynastic politics' and sneered at the BJP.
In Nanded district, the NCP secured victories in the Loha, Kandhar, Degloor, and Umri municipal councils, while the BJP managed wins in Kundalwadi, Mudkhed, and Bhorkar councils. Both the Shiv Sena and Marathwada Janhit Party secured two councils each, while Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress claimed victory in one council each. Nanded’s spotlight intensified with BJP's performance, as former Congress leader Ashok Chavan recently joined the party, and he is considered a heavyweight in Nanded.
