India, June 28 -- The three Mahayuti parties, which are on a poaching spree from opposition parties ahead of local body polls across Maharashtra later this year, are in some cases battling with each other for local leaders in various districts. Leaders from the ruling alliance believe that the competition will only increase as the polls near.

For instance, Jayashree Patil, the granddaughter-in-law of former chief minister and the late Congress leader Vasantdada Patil, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) last week. A day earlier, the Shiv Sena (UBT) Nashik city chief, Sudhakar Badgujar, joined the party in the presence of senior BJP leaders in Mumbai. Both leaders, who are believed to have strongholds in their respective districts, we...