Riding on Shiv Sena’s strong performance in the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday said the party’s support in rural areas has grown and public confidence in it has strengthened, reported news agency PTI. 

Shinde also paid tribute to the late Ajit Pawar, noting that had he been alive, the Mahayuti would have jointly celebrated the electoral victories. Pawar passed away in a plane crash on January 28.