The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance has scored a major early advantage in Maharashtra’s upcoming municipal corporation elections, with 70 candidates being elected unopposed, nearly all from the ruling parties. According to the State Election Commission, voting for the 29 civic bodies is scheduled for January 15, with counting on January 16. Of the 70 unopposed winners, 44 are from the BJP, 22 from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and two from Ajit Pawar’s NCP. Only one candidate belongs to an Islamic party and one is an independent, while not a single candidate from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi secured an unopposed win.
The BJP’s unopposed victories were spread across several municipal corporations, with Kalyan-Dombivli seeing the highest number at 15, followed by six each from Panvel, Jalgaon, and Bhiwandi, four from Dhule, three from Ahilya Nagar, and two each from Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Shiv Sena’s 22 unopposed wins came mainly from Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli, along with Jalgaon and Bhiwandi, while NCP had two candidates declared unopposed.
Opposition parties have strongly criticized the process, alleging that ruling party leaders are using intimidation and inducements to secure unopposed victories. Speaking on condition of anonymity, an opposition leader claimed, “If money doesn’t work, threats are used. Old police cases are dug up and revived. When even that fails, violence follows. In Solapur, an MNS worker was allegedly killed for refusing to withdraw. This is not democracy; it is dictatorship.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leaders echoed similar concerns. Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena (UBT) alleged that returning officers were pressured to accept withdrawals of nominations late into the night. “A friend of mine, who is in this election process, said accepting the form beyond 3 pm would not be appropriate. He was told by the guardian minister, in a tone that sounded both a request and a threat, that he should listen to what the local MLA says,” Raut said, calling the process “mobocracy in the name of democracy.”
MNS leader Avinash Jadhav also criticized the ruling parties, asking, “Why do you hold polls if you want to win them before voting? Both the ruling parties should distribute it amongst themselves. Democracy has ended in India and the state.” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant added that pressure was applied on opposition candidates to secure unopposed victories.
Union Minister Murlidhar Mohol welcomed the unopposed wins and claimed they were a reflection of the BJP’s governance and popularity. “We have a target of 125 seats out of which we have already won two, so 123 are remaining. Two seats were won unopposed. This is a certificate for our party’s good governance,” he said. BJP leaders credited their early success to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s popularity and the electoral strategy of State unit president Ravindra Chavan, noting that it strengthened their dominance not only in smaller municipal councils but also in major municipal corporations across Maharashtra.
