Thane, Jan. 4 -- Allegations of electoral manipulation have intensified ahead of the January 15 civic polls in Maharashtra after 68 candidates affiliated with the ruling Mahayuti were declared elected unopposed, with opposition parties claiming that the process has undermined the democratic right to vote and demanding fresh elections in affected wards.
Of the 68 candidates declared elected unopposed in the January 15 municipal corporation polls across the state, a staggering 47 per cent (32 candidates) hail from Thane district alone. Of these, 20 candidates belonged to the Bharatiya Janata Party and 12 to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. In Kalyan alone, 14 BJP and six Shiv Sena candidates were elected without contest, while six candidates each from the two ruling parties secured unopposed victories in Thane and Bhiwandi.
At a joint press conference on Sunday, leaders of the opposition Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena accused the state administration and police of facilitating these outcomes. Sena (UBT) leader Rajan Vichare and MNS Thane Palghar chief Avinash Jadhav alleged that the election machinery had worked to ensure uncontested wins for associates of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Jadhav shared a video clip, which he claimed showed a police officer escorting Sena (UBT) candidate Vikrant Ghag to Shinde's Shubhdeep bungalow in Thane on the day nominations were withdrawn. "This candidate had received the nomination from the Thackeray group. Why was he being taken there? This election is being held with money and under police pressure," Jadhav said, adding that the candidate had been untraceable since then. Vichare alleged that a large share of the 68 unopposed victories resulted from rejected nominations and intimidation. He claimed that 336 nomination applications were rejected across Maharashtra and said nearly half the task of ensuring unopposed wins for Shinde's associates was carried out by election officials. The opposition leaders demanded action against two election officers, warning that if they were not replaced within 48 hours, the MNS would target the election office in what Jadhav described as "MNS style".
Opposition leaders also warned candidates who accepted party tickets but later withdrew without notice. "There is no forgiveness for traitors," they said, adding that such candidates would be confronted after the polls.
Earlier, Sena (UBT) Thane unit chief Kedar Dighe questioned the legitimacy of the results, calling the scale of unopposed victories unprecedented in the state's civic election history. "How can only ruling party candidates emerge unopposed? If this concept is valid, opposition candidates should also have been on the list," he said, while reiterating the demand that the None of the Above option be provided even in wards with a single candidate so that voters are not deprived of their right to vote. The MNS has indicated it may challenge the unopposed declarations in court. The Thane Municipal Corporation, meanwhile, clarified that while six candidates were lone contenders in their wards, their names had only been forwarded to the State Election Commission for a final decision. In Navi Mumbai, where the BJP and Shiv Sena are contesting against each other, no candidate has been declared elected unopposed. The issue escalated further after Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray demanded the cancellation of elections in wards where candidates were elected unopposed and called for the poll process to be restarted. Speaking alongside MNS president Raj Thackeray at the unveiling of their joint manifesto for the Mumbai civic polls, Thackeray said such outcomes amounted to denying voters, particularly first time and Gen Z voters, their franchise. He alleged that after "vote stealing", the ruling parties were now "stealing candidates".
Thackeray also accused the Mahayuti government of misusing the finances of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation since his government was dislodged in June 2022. He claimed that while the BMC's expenditure budget stood at Rs 15,000 crore, contractors were being paid advances amounting to Rs 3 lakh crore, which he described as a scam, alleging that kickback money was being funnelled into civic polls.
Raj Thackeray accused the BJP of double standards, noting that the party had approached the Supreme Court in similar cases in West Bengal where ruling party candidates were elected unopposed. He warned that power was not permanent and said the ruling party was setting a precedent it could later regret. He also asserted that Marathi identity would be central to the elections, saying the mayor of Mumbai and other cities would be Marathi.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis dismissed the allegations, saying the people's mandate would prevail even if the opposition moved the courts. Speaking during a roadshow in Chandrapur, he said, "They can certainly go to court, but the people's court has elected us." He questioned why the opposition was silent on unopposed wins by independents and Muslim candidates, adding that the criticism stemmed from an anticipation of defeat.
The State Election Commission has sought a detailed report from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation after complaints that nomination forms were not accepted in south Mumbai's Colaba area, where relatives of Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar are contesting. Narwekar has rejected allegations of interference as politically motivated.
As per SEC data, 15,931 candidates are contesting for 2,869 seats across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. Of 33,247 nominations filed, 24,771 were found valid and 8,840 candidates withdrew before the deadline. Votes will be counted on January 16.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.