Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal claimed that his party will have mayors in five cities and nearly 350 corporators across the state.
He said the party will be part of power arrangements in at least 10 municipal corporations.
According to the Congress, the party is in a position to install its own mayors in Latur, Chandrapur, Bhiwandi (Thane district), Parbhani and Kolhapur.
Talking to reporters in Buldhana, Sapkal said on Friday that while the party’s 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 said.
Alleging large-scale irregularities in the civic polls, the Congress leader 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, even as he congratulated party candidates and workers.
He alleged that the BJP's success in Mumbai civic polls was the result of "fixing" and claimed that the polls were not free and fair. "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," Sapkal said.
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 said.