Maharashtra civic polls: BJP hits century with 100 unopposed wins

Mumbai: Saturday, the final day for withdrawing nominations in Maharashtra’s Nagar Panchayat and Municipal Council polls, turned into a clean stretch of wins for the BJP. By the time the lists closed, the party had already secured 103 seats—100 corporators and three municipal presidents—without a single vote being cast. North Maharashtra and Western Maharashtra delivered the bulk of these early gains. Konkan, Marathwada, and Vidarbha added a few more.

Why did so many step aside?

State BJP chief Ravindra Chavan said the opposition backed out because people trusted the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Opposition parties didn’t buy that explanation. They said candidates were pressured or persuaded to drop out. The BJP countered that nothing of the sort happened.

A few seats created a stir. In Solapur’s Angar Nagar Panchayat, all 17 candidates connected to Rajan Patil’s family got elected unopposed. In Satara’s Malkapur, five BJP candidates knocked out the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) before the contest even began.

Region-wise snapshot

• North Maharashtra: 49
• West Maharashtra: 41
• Konkan: 4
• Marathwada: 3
• Vidarbha: 3

In total, 6,859 seats are up for election across 246 municipal councils and 42 Nagar Panchayats. More than half fall under various reservation categories, including a large share for women. Voting is set for December 2, and counting for December 3.

Development or family control?

The BJP said the early wins show people trust its development model. The opposition said the results point to something else: too many candidates related to ruling-party leaders winning without a challenge. NCP (Sharad Pawar) called it “candidate snatching.” Shiv Sena (UBT) alleged that many seats were handed to relatives of ministers. The BJP brushed off both attacks.

What to watch now?

The BJP has locked in 103 seats already. The rest—more than 6,700—will shape the real battle between the Mahayuti alliance and the MVA bloc. With the results only days away, both sides are treating these unopposed victories as a sign of how the ground might shift. All eyes are now on whether this early sweep gives the BJP a head start or sparks a stronger pushback from the opposition on polling day.