Maharashtra Civic Elections: Mahayuti Secures 68 Seats Without Contest

Mumbai: Even before the municipal elections to be held in Maharashtra on January 15, the ruling Mahayuti seems to be getting big political gains. As soon as the process of withdrawal of nominations is completed, 68 candidates have been declared elected unopposed in different urban bodies of the state. This development has already made the direction of the election contest clear to a great extent.

Who has benefited most from uncontested victories?

The largest share of these 68 unopposed victories has gone to the account of Bharatiya Janata Party. BJP alone has won 44 seats without any contest. Among other constituent parties of Mahayuti, Shiv Sena has got unopposed success on 22 seats and Nationalist Congress Party on two seats.

In which cities was this increase seen the most?

The biggest center of unopposed victories was Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation, where a large number of candidates were declared winners without voting. Apart from this, Mahayuti also got benefit in urban areas like Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Panvel, Bhiwandi, Dhule, Jalgaon and Ahilyanagar. At many places, opposition candidates withdrew their names at the last moment, ending the contest.

What are the signals being seen in Pune?

BJP's Manjusha Nagpure and Shrikant Jagtap have been elected unopposed from ward number 35 of Pune Municipal Corporation. Both have represented the same ward earlier also. In local political circles, this is being considered the result of BJP's organizational hold and grassroots network.

How is the BJP leadership viewing these results?

BJP leaders say that the unopposed victories show the strength of the party's work and organization in urban areas. Union Minister Murlidhar Mohol said that the next mayor in Pune will be from BJP. He said that the party has set a target of winning 125 seats in the municipal elections.

According to BJP spokesperson Keshav Upadhye, it is clear from these results that BJP's base is continuously getting stronger in the urban areas of the state.

How is the opposition viewing the unopposed victories?

On the other hand, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has raised objection to the unopposed victories. Party MP Priyanka Chaturvedi alleged that pressure was put on opposition candidates at many places, due to which they withdrew from the election field. She said that somewhere fear was shown and somewhere political compromises were made, which is against the democratic process.

What will be the political equation going forward?

Voting for 29 municipal corporations of Maharashtra will be held on January 15. These also include the state's largest municipal body, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Counting of votes will take place the next day. Mahayuti has definitely got an initial lead due to unopposed victories, but the real picture will emerge only after voting.