The ruling Mahayuti alliance, comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, has secured a significant head start in the upcoming civic body elections in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The alliance has already won 10 seats unopposed across the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) and the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation, even before voters head to the polls.
A Clear Early Advantage for the Ruling Alliance
Of the ten uncontested victories, six candidates belong to the BJP and four are from the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. This early sweep provides the ruling combine with a clear psychological and numerical advantage in the fiercely contested local elections.
The trend of unopposed wins became prominent on Thursday in Dombivli, where six candidates were declared elected without a contest. This included two from the BJP and four from the Shiv Sena. This development followed three unopposed wins for the BJP on Wednesday, taking the total tally in KDMC alone to nine seats.
Key Victories and Candidate Profiles
In a notable instance from Panel 27A, BJP candidate Manda Subhash Patil won unopposed after her sole rival, advocate Suvarna Mhatre from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), withdrew her nomination. Interestingly, Mhatre had joined the MNS after being denied a ticket by the BJP.
A complete sweep occurred in Panel 24, which covers four wards with 16 seats. Here, all candidates from the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and independents withdrew their nominations. This paved the way for the unopposed election of Jyoti Pawan Patil from the BJP and Ramesh Mhatre, Vishwanath Rane, and Vrushali Ranjit Joshi from the Shiv Sena.
In Panel 28A, Shiv Sena's Harshal More secured an uncontested win. More is the son of Shiv Sena MLA Rajesh More.
The wave extended to the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation, where BJP candidate Sumit Patil from Panel 17 was elected unopposed. Patil, who is the nephew of former MP Kapil Patil, benefited after three candidates withdrew and two were disqualified during the nomination scrutiny process.
Allegations of Power Misuse and Criticism
The series of unopposed victories has sparked allegations from the opposition. Former MNS MLA from Kalyan Rural, Pramod (Raju) Patil, has accused the ruling alliance of misusing its power. He claimed that candidates were pressured to withdraw through a combination of intimidation, financial inducements, and political influence.
Patil also criticized the panel system itself, alleging it was designed to favor strong candidates from the ruling parties and to discourage opposition contestants from filing or maintaining their nominations. These claims, however, have been denied by the alliance partners.
The early wins for the Mahayuti set the stage for a high-stakes battle in the remaining seats, with the opposition now under pressure to mount a strong challenge during the actual polling.
