Nagpur, April 26 (TNN): The voter apathy mostly towards the Congress and to some extent the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was witnessed in the civic polls held this week in several parts of Maharashtra. The rejection of the Congress by traditional voters Muslims, Dalits and OBCs saw the right wing AIMIM make huge gains in Aurangabad while nearer home in Wadi municipal council`s maiden polls, the BSP was catapulted to kingmaker position. The Congress was looking to rise from the debris of defeat it suffered in Lok Sabha and assembly elections last year.

The party replaced its state president as Manikrao Thakre was ousted by ex-chief minister Ashok Chavan. But this has not helped in reducing the voter distrust in party`s leadership. As a result, in Aurangabad it could garner around 10 of the 113 seats and 10 of 111 in Navi Mumbai.

In Ambernath it got 8/57, but failed to open account in Badlapur municipal corporation elections. In municipal council polls at Wadi and Mowad in Vidarbha , the Congress managed one seat in each place. In Wadi, BSP which has won 7 of the 14 seats it contested now holds the key to power as no party has secured majority in the 25-seat council.

In Aurangabad, BSP won five seats. Reaping the benefits of a weakened Congress, the MIM won 25 seats in Auranagabad and the BSP five. "Our good performance in Wadi and Aurangabad will send a positive signal among cadres," an elated Veer Singh, Rajya Sabha member from UP and in-charge of BSP`s Maharashtra affairs, told TOI on Saturday.