India, Jan. 13 -- The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections are witnessing a decline in the number of independent candidates, a trend flagged in a research study conducted after the 2017 civic polls that has been attributed to rising election costs, alliance compulsions and the growing influence of money and muscle power.

According to the research report, titled Contesting Municipal Elections: Motivations and Strategy, authored by political researcher Sanjay Patil under the guidance of Mumbai University professor Surendra Jondhale, the share of independent candidates has declined sharply since 2012. While independents accounted for 40.97% of all contestants in the 2012 BMC elections, the figure dropped to 30.67% in 2017. In ...