A scene of intense chaos and last-minute desperation unfolded in Nashik on Tuesday, December 30, as the deadline for filing nominations for the January 15 Municipal Corporation elections expired at 3 pm. Candidates from various political parties swarmed the election office in a frantic final push to submit their papers, while those who had already filed scrambled to complete the mandatory submission of their A and B forms.
Confusion and Allegations Mar the Process
Tension spiked in the Vilholi area on Nashik's outskirts following reports that BJP office-bearers were distributing the crucial A and B forms from a local bungalow. This led to a massive crowd of aspirants and their supporters converging on the spot, creating significant disorder. The situation worsened when word spread that forms were being moved in vehicles linked to city BJP president Sunil Kedar and MLA Seema Hiray. In a display of fierce intra-party competition, some hopeful candidates and their aides allegedly chased these vehicles in a desperate attempt to secure the documents.
Amid the rush, several BJP aspirants voiced their frustration, alleging they were denied tickets and that candidacies were being allocated in exchange for money. However, senior minister Girish Mahajan, addressing the media in Nashik, outright dismissed these claims. He stated that such allegations are commonplace whenever hopefuls do not receive party tickets and asserted that the BJP's candidate selection was strictly based on the results of three separate surveys conducted by the party.
Alliance Uncertainty Causes Widespread Delay
The distribution of A and B forms across all major parties was severely delayed, only beginning on Monday afternoon. This holdup was primarily due to prolonged uncertainty over alliance formations for the civic polls. As of 3 pm on Monday, no coalition decisions were finalized, leaving hundreds of candidates in a state of limbo.
Clarity finally emerged in the evening when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners announced they would contest the Nashik polls together. Simultaneously, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena declared their alliance, excluding the BJP. Consequently, all parties began distributing the necessary forms late on Monday night, with most candidates receiving them barely an hour before the nomination deadline on Tuesday.
The rush extended well past the official 3 pm cutoff at the election office, as those who had entered the premises before the deadline were allowed to complete their submissions. The process continued until nearly 5 pm. In total, 2,357 nomination papers were filed for the 122 seats across Nashik's 31 wards. A staggering 1,331 nominations were submitted on the final Tuesday alone, adding to the 898 filed on Monday.
Heavyweights and Strategic Moves
Tuesday saw several prominent candidates formally entering the fray. Key BJP figures who filed nominations included Suresh Patil, Shivaji Gangurde, Gurumit Bagga, and Shahu Khaire. Also in the list were Hitesh Wagh (wife of former mayor Yatin Wagh), Nupur Savji (daughter of BJP state spokesperson Laxman Savji), and Aditi Pande (daughter-in-law of former mayor Vinayak Pande).
In a significant strategic move, the BJP has fielded four 'imported' candidates in Ward 13 of Nashik East, a traditional Congress stronghold where the BJP failed to win any of the four seats in the 2017 polls. The party recently inducted former Congress corporator Shahu Khaire, Rahul (Bablu) Shelar (nephew of NCP(SP) city chief Gajanan Shelar), and former city mayors Vinayak Pande and Yatin Wagh. All four newcomers—Shahu Khaire, Bablu Shelar, Aditi Pande, and Hitesh Wagh—have now been given tickets from Ward 13 and filed their nominations on the last day.
The final day of nominations has set the stage for a highly competitive election, marked by political defections, last-minute alliances, and a record number of aspirants vying for power in the Nashik Municipal Corporation.
