Maharashtra Civic Polls: BJP Wins 44 Seats Unopposed, Shiv Sena Bags 22

Mumbai, 2 January – Ahead of the Maharashtra municipal corporation elections, the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance has secured 68 out of 69 seats unopposed across the state.

On the last day for withdrawal of nominations, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the biggest beneficiary, with its 44 candidates declared winners without any contest, giving the party an early advantage.

Leaders from the ruling parties made intense efforts to persuade rebel candidates to withdraw their nominations across Maharashtra. From Nasik to Solapur and Mumbai to Nagpur, dramatic scenes unfolded, with tensions leading to the death of a political worker in Solapur.

In Solapur, clashes reportedly took place between two factions of the BJP, resulting in the death of a party worker. Police were deployed to restore peace.

In Nasik, BJP leaders faced strong protests from party workers over tickets given to outsiders, leading to heated debates during the nomination withdrawal process.

Despite continuous efforts by the BJP leadership in Mumbai, five rebel candidates from wards 60, 173, 205, 177, and 180 chose to remain in the election fray.

Similarly, in about nine wards, Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray’s factions failed to convince rebels to withdraw nominations. In neighbouring Bhiwandi, the Thackeray groups’ alliance broke down, with both sides filing nominations against each other. In Panvel, seven Maha Vikas Aghadi candidates withdrew nominations, allowing BJP candidates to be elected unopposed.

In Nagpur, rebel BJP candidate Kisan Gavande was reportedly locked inside his house by supporters when BJP MLC Parinay Fuke tried to persuade him to withdraw. Later, Gavande requested his supporters to follow the party directive.

Congress MLAs Vikas Thackeray and Nitin Raut spent the day persuading rebel candidates to withdraw, promising them important organisational posts.

In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, BJP workers protested against party leaders favouring outsiders over long-serving activists. While many rebels withdrew nominations, Prashant Bhadane-Patil, who had earlier attempted self-immolation, refused to withdraw from ward number 2.

According to data available after scrutiny, 69 candidates from all parties have been declared winners unopposed in 29 municipal elections. Of these, BJP has 44 seats, Shiv Sena 22, Ajit Pawar-led NCP two, and the Islamic party one seat.

Municipality-wise figures show BJP secured the highest number of unopposed candidates in Kalyan with 15 seats, followed by Bhiwandi (6), Panvel (6), Jalgaon (6), Dhule (4), Ahilyanagar (3), Pune (2), and Pimpri-Chinchwad (2).

Shiv Sena recorded seven unopposed wins in Thane, the home turf of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, along with seven in Kalyan, six in Jalgaon, and two in Bhiwandi.

NCP led by Ajit Pawar secured two unopposed wins in Jalgaon, while the Islamic party won one unopposed seat in Malegaon.

The elections for municipal corporations including Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are scheduled for 15 January.

–

AMT/ABM