BJP-Sena sweep without a vote puts Maharashtra civic polls under scanner

With candidates of the ruling Mahayuti alliance — led by the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena — elected unopposed in 68 of the 69 no-contest seats across Maharashtra’s municipal corporations, the State Election Commission (SEC) on January 3 put the declaration of results on hold and sought detailed reports from local election authorities to rule out any foul play. The move comes less than two weeks ahead of civic polls scheduled for January 15.

A senior SEC official said the Commission is mandated to verify unopposed victories to ensure that rival candidates were not forced out of the race. “As per rules, in the case of an unopposed victory, we seek a report from the Returning Officer or the District Collector to ensure that no force or intimidation was used to prevent others from contesting,” the official said, adding that a final announcement is made only after such confirmation.

Echoing the Commission’s position, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar said the practice dates back two decades. “There are instructions from the State Election Commission from 2004 that if an unopposed election has taken place, we have to ascertain whether the withdrawal of nominations happened due to pressure. We will examine this and send a report to the SEC,” he was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

Pune Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram said reports were being prepared for submission. Both the Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune commissioners said they had not received any formal complaints from candidates or political parties so far.

However, the Opposition has already sounded the alarm, alleging the use of force and money power to engineer walkovers. Of the 69 candidates elected unopposed, 44 belong to the BJP, 22 to the Shinde Sena, two to the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, and one to the Islamic Party.

The BJP’s unopposed victories were concentrated in Kalyan (15), Bhiwandi, Panvel and Jalgaon (six each), Dhule (four), Ahilyanagar (three), and Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad (two each). The Shinde Sena secured seven walkovers each in Thane — Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s home turf — and Kalyan, six in Jalgaon, and two in Bhiwandi. The Ajit Pawar-led NCP won two unopposed seats in Jalgaon, while the Islamic Party candidate was elected unopposed in Malegaon.

The BJP hailed the outcome as a public endorsement of its governance. State BJP president Ravindra Chavan rejected allegations of coercion, attributing the walkovers to the party’s development record. “These unopposed victories reflect the confidence voters have in the development work carried out by the Mahayuti government under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Even Opposition candidates were convinced they would lose and therefore withdrew,” he said.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi, however, demanded a comprehensive probe. Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut termed the episode unprecedented. “This is something we have never heard before. The State Election Commission should investigate this so-called unopposed election and tell the people of Maharashtra whether these polls are truly free and fair,” he said.

Raut added that civic commissioners should go beyond routine reporting and conduct a thorough inquiry to determine whether withdrawals were voluntary or driven by threats or monetary inducements, warning that the credibility of the civic polls was at stake.