Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said on Monday that 259 candidates endorsed by his party and 40 nominees supported by the Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde faction were elected as sarpanches in the state's recent gram panchayat elections, news agency PTI reported.
On Sunday, elections for 547 gramme panchayats distributed throughout 16 districts of the state were held.
The elections were non-partisan, and the counting of ballots began on Monday. In addition to gram panchayat elections, direct polls for village sarpanches were held.
Bawankule told a news conference that 259 sarpanches endorsed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had been elected.
The former minister further stated that 40 nominees sponsored by the Shiv Sena group led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, a BJP ally, had been chosen as sarpanches.
According to him, the Shinde-BJP combination is supported by more over half of the newly elected sarpanches.
"Gram panchayat results today have confirmed Maharashtra's faith in the Shinde-Fadnavis government," Bawankule was quoted by PTI in its report.
Polling was held peacefully for 547 gram panchayats on Sunday. In terms of voting percentage, the Election Commission has reported that 76 per cent of eligible voters exercise their franchise.
For the biggest number of gram panchayats—139 in Nandurbar district and 72 in Yavatmal district—votes have been cast in the election of members, including sarpanches. Votes were cast in the Dhule district for 33 gram panchayats, 13 in the Jalgaon district, 38 in the Junnar taluka of Pune, 18 in the Ambegaon taluka, 05 in the Khed taluka, and 2 in the dawn taluka.
(With Inputs From PTI)