ISLAM party chief Aasif Shaikh Rashid speaks following his party's dominating show in Malegaon civic body polls in Maharashtra. Photo: X
Maharashtra civic polls: Amid saffron storm, ISLAM party dominates Malegaon contest
The party of less than two years won 35 of 84 seats in the Muslim-dominated town, where the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance failed to make an impact
While political pundits were busy analysing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance’s emphatic dominance in the just held civic body polls in Maharashtra, it was nowhere near the winner’s podium in Malegaon Municipal Corporation (MMC), one of the 29 bodies that went to the polls, in Nashik district.
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As per trends and early results that came out on Friday (January 16), the Indian Secular Largest Assembly of Maharashtra (ISLAM) party emerged as the single-largest outfit in the Malegaon civic body, winning 35 out of 84 seats (across 21 seats) that went to the polls.
ISLAM party formed in 2024 by former NCP leader
Aasif Shaikh Rashid, a former MLA of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) or NCP (SC), formed the ISLAM party after quitting his former party in August 2024. He was earlier in the Congress, which he left in 2021 to join the undivided NCP. He said his outfit is a secular one that aims to represent people from all castes and communities. He had said that the ISLAM party's main agenda is to see the overall development of Malegaon.
Also read: Mumbai civic polls: Congress comes a cropper
The second place went to the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which has done well overall across the state, with 21 seats. Malegaon is a Mulsim-dominated powerloom town.
The Shiv Sena of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde got only 18 seats, followed by the Samajwadi Party, which got five and the Congress, with three. The BJP stood at a distance with just two seats, seven fewer than its 2017 tally of nine.
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While voting for 29 municipal corporations took place on Thursday (January 15), the announcement of results is underway.
Congress was single-largest party in Malegaon in 2017
In 2017, the Congress emerged as the single-largest party in the Malegaon civic body polls with 28 seats, followed by the NCP (undivided) with 26. The Sena, which was also undivided then, finished with 13. The AIMIM received seven.
The MMC, which manages the city’s complex infrastructure and urban planning, saw 481,228 voters to elect 21 ward representatives in this year’s elections.
(With agency inputs)