Congress to have its Mayors in five cities, 350 corporators across Maharashtra: Sapkal

Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal on Friday (January 16, 2026) claimed his party will have Mayors in five cities and around 350 corporators across the State, asserting it would also be part of power arrangements in at least 10 Municipal Corporations.

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According to the Congress, the party is in a position to install its own Mayors in Latur, Chandrapur, Bhiwandi (Thane district), Parbhani and Kolhapur, which were among the 29 Municipal Corporations where polling was held on January 15 and counting was taken up on Friday (January 16, 2026).

Talking to reporters in Buldhana, Mr. Sapkal said while the Congress’ performance in the civic polls may not be fully satisfactory, the party fought an “ideological battle” without compromising its principles and emerged as the principal Opposition force in the State.

“The Congress today stands as the second-largest party in Maharashtra. Wherever possible, we contested independently, and in some places through alliances, with the aim of strengthening the party ideologically and organisationally,” he noted.

Alleging large-scale irregularities in the elections, Mr. Sapkal accused the ruling BJP-led alliance of misusing money power and facilitating bogus voting.

“There was rampant distribution of money and bogus voting. Despite this, Congress workers stood firmly against the BJP’s bulldozer politics. This is the victory of our workers’ resolve,” he said, congratulating party candidates and workers.

Referring specifically to Mumbai, the Congress leader alleged that the BJP’s success in the city civic polls was the result of “fixing”.

“From ward delimitation to the use of machines (EVMs) and even issues related to indelible ink, everything was part of fixing. The Election Commission should stop acting at the BJP’s behest,” Mr. Sapkal said.

He further alleged that the elections were not free and fair, citing instances of bogus voters, inducements, candidate poaching and what he termed the EC’s “ineffective functioning”.

“Democracy and the Constitution are under threat. The BJP and its allies have fallen to moral lows in their pursuit of power,” he said.

Mr. Sapkal asserted that the Congress would continue its ideological struggle to protect democracy and the Constitution.

“This is a time of struggle. We are not disheartened by defeat and are fully prepared for the next battle,” the MPCC president maintained.

Warning the ruling alliance, he affirmed that authoritarianism may grow for a while, but it will eventually collapse.

“The time for that collapse is nearing. The coming period will be difficult for the BJP and its allies,” Mr. Sapkal remarked.