Celebrations for victory in the local body polls turned sour in Maharashtra after at least 16 people, including newly elected councillors of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), were injured after 'adulterated' turmeric being offered in a temple caught fire, NDTV reported.
During a victory procession of elected councillors and party workers at Jejuri, party functionaries had gathered to offer 'bhandara' at the feet of Lord Khanderaya after the results were announced, when disaster struck. NCP councillors Swarupa Khomne and Monika Ghadge were among those who suffered burns.
Politicians react to the incident
NCP(SP) MP Supriya Sule posted about the incident on her X handle. She wrote in Marathi, "At the foothills of Jejuri Fort, during the post-vote counting celebrations, an accident occurred when adulterated bhandara (turmeric powder) was thrown, causing a sudden flare-up that left several people seriously burnt. The injured include the winning candidates as well. This incident is extremely sad and unfortunate. I have gathered detailed information regarding the incident and am in constant touch with the administration."
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Sule added, "Meanwhile, local residents had earlier complained to the authorities that adulterated bhandara was being sold at several places in Jejuri. However, these complaints were not taken seriously, which led to this unfortunate incident. I pray at the feet of Khanderaya that all those injured in this incident recover at the earliest and return home safely. The government should immediately conduct an inquiry into this incident and take the strictest possible action against those responsible."
Mahayuti's victory in Maharashtra local body polls
The Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde's Shivsena, and Ajit Pawar's NCP, won a clean sweep in the Maharashtra local body elections in Pune. They won all 17 president posts across municipal councils and nagar panchayats.
NCP chief Ajit Pawar has posted on X, "The results of the recently concluded Municipal Council and Municipal Panchayat General Elections 2025 clearly reflect people of Maharashtra’s strong support for the ideology of Shiv-Shahu-Phule-Ambedkar upheld by the Nationalist Congress Party, and their endorsement of the development-oriented governance of the Mahayuti. This mandate is a resounding victory for democracy."
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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis posted a complete breakdown of the Mahayuti's scale of victory. He wrote, "BJP has secured victory in 129 municipal councils (45 %) this year, a significant rise against 94 in 2017. As MahaYuti, we have won 215 municipal councils (74.65 %), out of a total of 288 municipal councils." He added, "In terms of number of corporators, BJP had won 1602 seats in 2017, which has now surged to 3325 (47.82 %). This means BJP won more than double the seats won earlier. As MahaYuti, we have won 4331 seats (62.30 %) out of a total of 6952 seats."
