Bhopal, July 20 (IANS) After losing the mayoral post in the Gwalior municipal polls in the first phase of counting in the urban body elections in Madhya Pradesh, the ruling BJP got another jolt in the Gwalior-Chambal division. The BJP lost the mayoral post in the Morena Municipal Corporation, the home turf of party stalwart and Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in the second phase, the results of which were announced on Wednesday.
The BJP also lost the mayoral post in the Rewa Municipal Corporation against its main political rival Congress after 25 years. Congress candidate Ajay Mishra (Baba) won Rewa's mayoral post defeating the BJP's Prabodh Vyas. Similarly, Congress nominee Sharda Solaki defeated the BJP's Meena Jatav for the mayoral post in Morena.
Out of the five municipal corporation results announced in the second phase of counting on Wednesday, both the BJP and the Congress 2 mayoral posts each. The BJP retained the mayoral posts in the Ratlam and Dewas municipal corporations, while an independent candidate won the Katinia mayoral post.
With this, in 16 municipal corporations across Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has bagged nine (7 in the 1st phase and 2 in the 2nd phase) mayoral posts, the opposition Congress, which had lost all mayoral posts in the last elections, has managed to win five (3 in the 1st phase and 2 in the 2nd phase), while debutant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) got one mayoral post (Singrauli) and one (Katni) was bagged by an independent candidate.
It is the first time the Congress will have as many as five mayors since 1999 after direct election for mayoral posts was introduced in Madhya Pradesh.
The Congress' victory in Gwalior's mayoral post and now Rewa and Morena will boost the confidence of the party's cadre. The Gwalior-Chambal division is considered the home turf of two BJP stalwarts, Union Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia and Narendra Singh Tomar. Rewa has a total of eight assembly seats and the BJP had won all 8 in 2018. The Member of Parliament from Rewa is also from the BJP.
Reacting to the party's performance in the urban body elections, former chief minister and Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kamal Nath said, "The Congress party has registered a landslide victory for the first time in Morena. Along with Morena, the people of the entire Gwalior-Chambal belt have said that they are completely with the Congress party. This victory is the victory of the people and after 15 months there is a call for great change in Madhya Pradesh."
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