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Cong loses Latur citadel to BJP in civic polls

Continuing its winning streak in Maharashtra, the ruling BJP on Friday won Latur and Chandrapur municipal corporations, out of three civic bodies that went to polls on April 19.

Defeat in Latur came as a major embarrassment for the Congress as the district has traditionally been the bastion of the party stalwart and former chief minister (late) Vilasrao Deshmukh.

The results of the elections held for the three municipal corporations were declared on Friday. The consolation for the Congress was the Parbhani municipal corporation, where the party improved its tally compared to the 2012 polls to retain power.

In 65-member Parbhani civic body, the Congress won 31 seats, NCP 18, BJP 8, Shiv Sena 6, and Independents 2.

In 2012 polls, the Congress won 23 seats, NCP 30, Shiv Sena 8, BJP 2 and others 2.

The BJP's victory in Latur stands out as the saffron party, which drew a blank in the 2012 elections, bagged 36 seats on Friday in the 70-member civic body. The Congress won 33 seats while one seat went to the NCP. The Latur debacle reflects poorly on the leadership potential of Amit Deshmukh, the MLA son of late Vilasrao, who was steering the Congress in elections. In 2012 polls to the Latur civic body, the Congress won 49 seats, NCP 13, and Shiv Sena 6. Remaining two seats were won by the smaller parties.
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