NASHIK/ KOLHAPUR/PUNE/ NAGPUR: NCP leader Ajit Pawar has made big gains after he split the party a few months ago. He now has more gram panchayats in his camp than his uncle Sharad Pawar, the veteran NCP leader.It was the first major test for Ajits leadership after he defected to join the Shinde-BJP government. The BJPand NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) locked horns in Baramati.Of the 31 gram panchyats, 29 went to Ajits faction.The fight in Baramati, especially in Katewadi, Ajit Pawars village, were the talk of the town. Fourteen of the 16 seats were won by his supporters, while two went to the BJP.Though the victory is marginal, it is significant for BJP leaders __ a win in a region dominated by the Pawars.Political experts said the results have increased Ajits power in the government. Prakash Pawar, a professor of political science at Shivaji University in Kolhapur, said that the deputy chief minister has made his presence felt."It is clear that BJP will need Ajit in the upcoming elections," Pawar added.He said that the results also show that had Ajit stayed with the NCP president, they could have posed a major challenge with help from Congress . "The split is a loss for the Sharad Pawar camp and the MVA," he added.Shiv Sena gains in W Maha The splits in Shiv Sena and NCP affected the polls in Pune district.Of 229 gram panchayats here, the Ajit Pawar camp won 109, BJP bagged 34 while the Sharad Pawar faction could win 27. Shiv Sena won 10, Shiv Sena (UBT) got 13 and the other parties pocketed 11 gram panchayats.In Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara, of the 220 gram panchayats, Sharad Pawars NCP could not win a single one independently.The Ajit faction won 24 places in Kagal and Bhudargad tehsils. Congress supported panels were in direct contest with those supported by Ajits camp.In Kolhapur, Congress won 20 places and Shiv Sena bagged 12, demolishing Sena (UBT) bastions in Shahuwadi and Karvir.In Sangli district, panels backed by NCP (Sharad Pawar) won but were behind BJP which bagged 31 gram panchayats, most of them in Tasgaon-Kavathe Mahankal tehsils.In Satara, chief minister Eknath Shindes home district, close aide and minister Shambhuraj Desai said they had won 35 gram panchayats. Ajit Pawars camp won 33 gram panchayats while his uncles faction bagged 20.Congress retained control over four places from Karad South constituency represented by former CM and MLA Prithviraj Chavan.BJP domination in NashikBJP recorded wins in 98 gram panchayats followed by Shiv Sena (54) and 30 by NCP (Ajit Pawar) of the 262 in Nashik region.In Jalgaon district, the BJP won 58, while Shiv Sena bagged 48 and NCP (Ajit Pawar) group bagged 18 gram panchayats.NCP (Sharad Pawar) bagged 17, Shiv Sena (UBT) 11 and Congress was elected to power in four gram panchayats. Others or independents were elected in 11 places.In Dhule, the BJP bagged 25 of the 31 gram panchayats and in Nandurbar it bagged nine of the 16. The MVA won just five places while the rest went to independents and others.Claims Vidarbha winsBJP Nagpur (rural) president Sudhakar Kohle said, "We smashed Congress strongholds by winning 237 of 361 seats." Senior BJP leader and former Katol MLA Ashish Deshmukh said, "Congress has been decimated. Its BJP everywhere now."BRS victorious in 53 placesTelangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Raos BRS entered Maharashtra politics and won 18 gram panchayats in Bhandara district, 17 in Solapur, 13 in Jalgoan, two each in Beed and Satara and one in Kolhapur. Maharashtra BRS chief Manik Kadam said it shows the support they have in rural areas.

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