Mumbai, Dec. 22 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday emerged as the top force in the first phase of elections for local self-government bodies in Maharashtra, winning 117 out of the 288 posts of municipal council and nagar panchayat presidents across the state. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the BJP's partner in the ruling Mahayuti alliance, emerged as a distant second, winning 53 municipal council/nagar panchayat president posts, while the NCP (SP) led by Sharad Pawar and the Shiv Sena (UBT) headed by Uddhav Thackeray performed poorly, winning just seven and nine presidents' posts respectively. The BJP bagged more than 48% of the overall tally of 6,859 seats as well, its score of 3,325 seats a huge jump from the 1,602 it had bagged in the 2017 local body polls. The elections were marred by allegations of anomalies in voters lists and misuse of power and money by the ruling Mahayuti alliance. Responding to the results, Maharashtra Congress president Harshavardhan Sakpal said, "It was not a free and fair election. The results are not commensurate with the sentiments among people." The grand success of the ruling alliance in the first phase of local body polls will give them a headstart for the remaining two phases, including elections to 29 municipal corporations such as Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Nagpur and Navi Mumbai on January 15, political commentators said. Polls to local bodies are considered mini assembly polls as more than 80% of the electorate in rural and urban areas vote in these elections. For the first phase of local body polls for 288 out of the 686 urban and rural self-government bodies in Maharashtra where elections are due for more than five years, voting was held on December 2 and 20 while votes were counted on Sunday. Though the phase witnessed considerable infighting among the ruling parties, especially between the BJP and the Shiv Sena in Kankavali, Malvan, Mahad, Solapur, Ambernath and Badlapur, they succeeded in eating up the opposition's space and bagging a larger tally for the Mahayuti. The Mahayuti fared well in most regions including western Maharashtra, Marathwada, Konkan and north Maharashtra. But in Vidarbha, the alliance won only 73 out of 100 posts of municipal council/ nagar panchayat presidents. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the number of seats won by the BJP and the Mahayuti were a record in the last 20-25 years. "We could achieve this success without criticising anybody and talking only about development and projecting the blueprint of development for various cities," Fadnavis said. Fifty-seven of the 288 local self-government bodies whose results were declared on Sunday had exceeded the 50% cap on reservation and their results are subject to the final verdict of the Supreme Court, which is hearing a bunch of related petitions. Mumbai-based political commentator Hemant Desai said the opposition had failed to put up an alternative, resulting in a cakewalk for the ruling alliance. "While top leaders from the three parties in the ruling combine were campaigning across the state, no major leader from the opposition alliance campaigned extensively. The NCP (SP) and the Shiv Sena (UBT) have fared very badly, raising a question mark on their future," Desai said. In Vidarbha, the MVA won 27 out of 100 seats. The best show came from Congress in Chandrapur district, as it won eight of the 11 president's posts. Comparatively, the party fared better than other opposition formations in the first phase. "This proves that the party still has its base in Vidarbha and could do better if more efforts are put in. The MVA lagged in coordinated efforts and combined strategy. They could have done better in other regions too," said a Congress leader, requesting anonymity....