Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Keshav Upadhye claimed on Friday that as many as 68 candidates from the Mahayuti were elected unopposed in the Maharashtra civic polls.
These include 44 from the BJP, with the highest number being from Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation in the Thane district, followed by Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Panvel, Bhiwandi, Dhule, Jalgaon and Ahilyanagar, news agency PTI reported.
Meanwhile, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena saw 22 of its candidates elected unopposed, while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Ajit Pawar, saw two of its candidates elected unopposed in the BMC polls.
What we know so far
On Friday, the Shiv Sena claimed five of its candidates were elected unopposed to the 131-member Thane Municipal Corporation, PTI reported.
Six BJP candidates were reportedly elected unopposed after the scrutiny of nomination papers for the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) polls in Maharashtra's Thane district, the party claimed.
Three Shiv Sena candidates and one BJP contestant were declared unopposed following the scrutiny of nomination papers for the Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation polls in Thane district, an official told PTI on Thursday.
According to the report, BJP candidates Manjusha Nagpure and Shrikant Jagtap from Pune's ward number 35 were elected unopposed after their opponents withdrew their nomination forms.
The two were elected from the ward between 2017 and 2022.
BJP leaders attributed the trend to the popularity of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and what they described as the successful electoral strategy of state unit president Ravindra Chavan.
These have helped the BJP emerge as a dominant force not only in municipal councils but also in major municipal corporations, the leaders added.
The development came as the Opposition alleged that the ruling alliance used threats and money to force candidates to withdraw from the fray.
'Mobocracy'
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, meanwhile, accused the ruling dispensation of using money and threats to get opposition candidates to withdraw from the fray.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut stated in a post on X that returning officers had been instructed to accept the withdrawal of nominations from candidates until late at night.
These withdrawals of nomination were to be considered as if they had been presented before the 3 pm deadline on Friday, he claimed.
"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.
"This is mobocracy in the name of democracy. One day, there will be a public uprising like in Bangladesh and Nepal," he further claimed.
"Why do you hold polls if you want to win them before voting. Both the ruling parties should distribute it amongst themselves. Democracy has ended in India and the state. They chose weak candidates of the opposition and got their work done," MNS leader Avinash Jadhav said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant also accused the ruling parties of putting pressure on Opposition candidates to ensure such unopposed victories.
