People voted in the local elections on Saturday, and the results were declared the same day
In a setback to the BJP, the Congress dominated the results of elections to the posts of Panchayat Samiti chairpersons and deputy chairpersons in Maharashtra's Nagpur.
The BJP didn't win a single post of chairperson. It won only three seats of deputy chairperson.
People voted in the local elections on Saturday, and the results were declared the same day.
Nagpur is the home ground of Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.
Nagpur also houses the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS, the ideological mentor of the BJP, which is in power in the state and the centre.
The Congress won nine out of 13 posts of chairperson and eight out of 13 posts of deputy chairperson in Nagpur.
The Nationalist Congress Party, or NCP, won three posts of chairperson, while the Shiv Sena won one such post, district officials said.
"The Panchayat Samiti results have demoralised the BJP cadre, as the party faced a defeat at the home ground of the RSS and senior leaders Nitin Gadkari, Devendra Fadnavis and Chandrashekar Bawankule," former minister and Congress rural unit chief Rajendra Mulak told PTI.
"Winning and losing keeps happening, but the way they have lost shows that the BJP cadre has no grip in the district," the Congress leader said.
Elections to the posts of sarpanch and members of gram panchayats were held on Sunday and results will be declared on Monday.
Polling and counting for the posts of president and vice-president of zilla parishads will be held on Monday, officials said.