Maharashtra Local Body Polls: State EC To Probe Unopposed Election Of 68 Mahayuti Candidates

Maharashtra Local Body Polls: The Maharashtra State Election Commission has sought reports from the authorities to investigate any potential involvement of coercion and allurement after 68 candidates of the ruling Mahayuti were elected unopposed in the local body elections.

The SEC announced that it would not allow the returning officers (ROs) of the wards to announce the election of the Mahayuti candidates until the reports were submitted.

The 68 candidates won in a total of 29 municipal corporations. These candidates included 44 of the BJP. Similarly, 22 candidates of Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and two of Ajit Pawar's NCP got elected unopposed as the opposition candidates withdrew their nominations.

The highest number of unopposed elections, 22, is from the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) in Thane district. 

KDMC is a bastion of BJP state chief Ravindra Chavan. KDMC is followed by Jalgaon with 12 seats, where the ruling alliance got a walkover.  

It is followed by Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Panvel, Bhiwandi, Dhule, and Ahilyanagar. 

Lauding the victories, Union minister and senior BJP leader Murlidhar Mohol said the next mayor of Pune will be from his party.

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"We have a target of 125 seats, out of which we have already won two, so 123 are remaining. Two seats were won unopposed. This is a certificate for our party's good governance," Mohol claimed.

The BJP leaders have attributed the trend to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's popularity and the successful electoral strategy of state unit president Ravindra Chavan.

The opposition parties have alleged that the ruling parties have either forced them or used inducements to withdraw their nominations at the eleventh hour.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut claimed that ROs officers had been directed to accept the withdrawal of nomination from candidates till late at night.

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"A friend of mine, who is in this election process, said this (accepting the form beyond 3 pm) would not be appropriate. He was told by the guardian minister, in a tone that sounded both a request and as a threat, that he should listen to what the local MLA says," Raut claimed.

As many as 2,869 wards are up for grabs across 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra. The voting for the civic polls will be held on January 15. 

(With PTI Inputs)