Navi Mumbai, Jan. 30 -- The political landscape in Panvel's rural hinterland has intensified ahead of the zilla parishad and panchayat samiti elections scheduled for February 7, with the contest devolving into a fierce, direct battle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP). The election, which will end the prolonged rule of state-appointed administrators, has seen a record surge in nominations and the breakdown of traditional alliances. While the BJP is aggressively seeking to replicate its urban success in the villages, the contest is complicated by "friendly contests" within the ruling Mahayuti alliance, where the Shiv Sena has fielded candidates against the BJP in several pockets. The election is widely viewed as a litmus test for the BJP's ability to bridge the region's stark urban-rural political divide. The stakes are particularly high for the PWP, for whom the rural belt remains a battle for survival. The BJP enters this contest with significant momentum, having decimated the opposition in the Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections held earlier this month. The party won 55 seats in the 78-member house, while the PWP shrank to just nine seats. Local strongman and BJP MLA Prashant Thakur framed the rural election as a choice for continuity. "The people of Panvel have rejected the politics of stagnation in the city, and now it is time for the villages to join the mainstream of progress," he said. "Our rural citizens deserve the same speed of development, better roads, water and infrastructure that the double-engine government has delivered in the urban nodes. We are confident the lotus (BJP symbol) will bloom in every constituency." The rural hinterland, however, tells a different historical story. In the 2017 polls, the PWP maintained an iron grip, winning six of the eight zilla parishad seats and 12 of the 16 panchayat samiti seats in Panvel taluka. For the PWP, this election is a fight to defend its last remaining citadel. PWP leader Balaram Patil has launched a scathing attack on the ruling alliance, accusing it of using financial muscle to break the opposition. "They think they can buy the self-respect of our villagers with bags of cash, but the rural voter knows who stood by them in difficult times," Patil said during a campaign stop in Wavanje. "This is not just an election; it is a battle to save democracy from those who want to purchase it. The BJP may have money, but we have the trust of the farmers." The focal point of this election is the battle for the eight zilla parishad gats or constituencies. Following the nomination withdrawal deadline, 64 candidates remain in the fray across both bodies: 18 are contesting for the eight zilla parishad seats, while 46 are vying for the 16 panchayat samiti seats. The BJP and PWP are locked in direct, high-intensity contests in six of the eight zilla parishad seats: Vavanje, Nere, Pali Devad, Palspe, Vadghar and Kelvane. The Vaveghar Zilla Parishad seat will witness a direct head-to-head clash between the BJP and the Shiv Sena (UBT). Meanwhile, in the Vahal and Palaspe seats, the Mahayuti alliance has fractured, with Shiv Sena fielding candidates against the BJP. At the panchayat samiti level, the contest is even more fragmented. The competition is fiercest in the Vavanje and Vahal Samiti seats, which have as many as five candidates each. The sheer number of rebels in these seats suggests that party discipline has collapsed, said a local political observer, requesting anonymity. "The fragmentation increases the likelihood of victories being decided by narrow margins, with independents potentially playing kingmaker."...