India, Feb. 10 -- In a verdict that has redrawn the political map of Panvel's rural hinterland, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday swept all eight zilla parishad seats in Panvel taluka and won 15 of the 16 panchayat samiti constituencies, breaching what was long considered the Peasants and Workers Party's (PWP) fortress.

The lone panchayat samiti seat outside the BJP's column went to a candidate from the Shiv Sena (UBT) faction, leaving the opposition with only a marginal foothold in the taluka's rural governance structure.

The BJP's scale of victory marks a striking reversal of the 2017 polls, when the PWP had dominated the taluka by winning six of the eight zilla parishad seats and 12 of the 16 panchayat samiti constituencies....