Maharashtra civic polls: Mahayuti wins 68 seats even before a single vote is cast

The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena bagged 22 unopposed victories, while Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won two seats without a contest

• BJP and Mahayuti allies win 68 Maharashtra civic seats unopposed before polling
• Shiv Sena (UBT) alleges pressure and threats led to opposition withdrawals
• BJP claims victories show popularity and successful strategy

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Even before polling day, the BJP and its Mahayuti allies have secured 68 seats in the much-awaited Maharashtra civic polls scheduled for January 15.

BJP leader Keshav Upadhye on Friday said that across the state, as many as 68 candidates from the BJP and the Mahayuti have been elected unopposed.

This includes 44 from the BJP, with the highest number being from Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation in Thane district, followed by Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Panvel, Bhiwandi, Dhule, Jalgaon and Ahilyanagar.

The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena bagged 22 unopposed victories, while Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won two seats without a contest.

In Pune, BJP candidates Manjusha Nagpure and Shrikant Jagtap were elected unopposed from ward number 35 after their opponents withdrew. Both were elected from the ward between 2017 and 2022.

Union minister and senior BJP leader Murlidhar Mohol asserted that the next mayor of Pune would be from the BJP. “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,” news agency PTI quoted Mohol as saying.

BJP leaders attributed the trend to the popularity of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and what they described as the successful electoral strategy of state unit president Ravindra Chavhan.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, meanwhile, accused the ruling dispensation of using money and threats to get opposition candidates to withdraw from the fray.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, in a post on X, claimed that returning officers had been directed to accept the withdrawal of nomination from candidates till late in the night.

These withdrawals of nomination were to be considered as if they had been presented before the 3 pm deadline on Friday, he claimed.

"A friend of mine, who is in this election process, said this (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 as a threat, that he should listen to what the local MLA says," Raut claimed.

This is mobocracy in the name of democracy. One day, there will be a public uprising like in Bangladesh and Nepal, he claimed.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant also accused the ruling parties of putting pressure on Opposition candidates to ensure such unopposed victories.