Vote counting for the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation elections is taking place today (Friday). Interestingly, even before the counting began, 68 candidates have already been declared winners without contest. These candidates were elected unopposed, as no rival nominations were filed against them.
This article looks at which party won how many unopposed seats.
BJP Wins the Highest Number of Unopposed Seats
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its Mahayuti alliance partners together won all 68 unopposed seats.
Out of these, 44 candidates belong to the BJP, making it the party with the highest number of uncontested wins.
Most of the BJP’s unopposed victories came from Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation in Thane district. Other areas include Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Bhiwandi, Panvel, Dhule, Ahilyanagar, and Jalgaon.
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Shiv Sena (Shinde Faction) Wins 21 Seats
The Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde secured 21 unopposed seats.
Meanwhile, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP won 2 seats unopposed, and one independent/other candidate was also elected without contest.
Notably, Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction), Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, and AIMIM failed to win even a single unopposed seat.
Party-wise Unopposed Seats
| Party | Unopposed Seats |
|---|---|
| BJP | 44 |
| Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) | 21 |
| NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) | 2 |
| Congress | 0 |
| NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) | 0 |
| Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction) | 0 |
| Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi | 0 |
| AIMIM | 0 |
| Others | 1 |
Investigation Into Unopposed Elections
State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare stated earlier that more than 60 candidates from the ruling alliance were elected unopposed across Maharashtra. In response, he has sought detailed reports from municipal commissioners.
The reports are expected to address key questions, including:
- Whether any candidates were pressured to withdraw nominations
- Whether inducements or incentives were offered
- Whether any police complaints were filed
- Whether the withdrawal of nominations was done voluntarily