Too Many Cooks in Pune

The city’s civic poll contest has turned into a free-for-all, exposing how Maharashtra’s once-stable alliances have unravelled owing to selfish ambition Pune: Pune’s municipal election was once a relatively orderly affair, governed by predictable coalitions and familiar rivalries. This time it resembles a crowded roundabout with no right of way. The collapse of both the ruling Mahayuti and the Opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has produced a four-cornered contest in almost every...

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The city’s civic poll contest has turned into a free-for-all, exposing how Maharashtra’s once-stable alliances have unravelled owing to selfish ambition Pune: Pune’s municipal election was once a relatively orderly affair, governed by predictable coalitions and familiar rivalries. This time it resembles a crowded roundabout with no right of way. The collapse of both the ruling Mahayuti and the Opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has produced a four-cornered contest in almost every ward, transforming what should have been a referendum on civic governance into a stress test for Maharashtra’s splintered politics. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), opting for muscular self-reliance, is contesting 157 of the 165 seats in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on its own, supplemented by eight allotted to the Republican Party and one sponsored candidate. Both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are fielding more than 100 candidates each, most under the familiar clock symbol that once unified them. Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction has nominated 111 candidates, while the Congress has put up 90, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) 70, and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) 44. Even within nominal alliances, ‘friendly contests’ abound with the Congress and the Sena (UBT) facing each other in around 20 wards. Political Unravelling Behind this arithmetic lies a deeper political unravelling. The uneasy coexistence of uncle Sharad Pawar and his usurper nephew Ajit Pawar has finally snapped, taking down both the BJP-led Mahayuti and the opposition MVA with it. In their place has emerged a latticework of tactical understandings that vary by city and convenience. In Pune, the Congress has tied up with Sena (UBT) and the MNS, while Ajit Pawar’s NCP has drawn closer to a faction of the Republican Party led by Sachin Kharat. The Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), which has aligned with the Congress in Mumbai, is going it alone in Pune. The Aam Aadmi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and a scattering of smaller outfits complete the picture. For voters, the result is bewilderment while opportunistic politicians make hay. In many wards the real contest has narrowed to a straight fight between the BJP and one or the other NCP faction, despite the apparent multiplicity of players. The churn has been accelerated by defections on an industrial scale. As the BJP denied tickets to 42 sitting corporators, a procession of disappointed aspirants crossed the aisle to secure nominations elsewhere. Former BJP corporators such as Amol Balwadkar, Dhananjay Jadhav, Prakash Dhore, Archana Musale and Shankar Pawar have resurfaced as NCP or Shiv Sena candidates, often pitted against their former colleagues. Dynastic politics, far from fading, has adapted neatly to the chaos. Surendra Pathare, son of Sharad Pawar-aligned MLA Bapusaheb Pathare, has joined the BJP and received tickets for both himself and his wife. Prithviraj Sutar, son of former minister Shashikant Sutar, has defected from Sena (UBT) to the BJP and been duly rewarded. Abhijeet Shivarkar, son of former Congress minister Balasaheb Shivarkar, has made a similar journey. Elsewhere, Sunny Nimhan, son of ex-MLA Vinayak Nimhan, is contesting on a BJP ticket, while the son of former Congress minister Ramesh Bagwe remains with his father’s party. Senior Figures The organisational churn has drawn senior figures into the fray. City chiefs of almost every major party - the BJP’s Dhiraj Ghate, Congress’s Arvind Shinde, Ajit Pawar NCP’s Subhash Jagtap, Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay More, Shinde Sena’s Nana Bhangire, MNS’s Sainath Babar and AAP’s Sudarshan Jagdale - are contesting, as is the mercurial Dhananjay Benkar. Their presence underlines both the stakes involved and the absence of clear command structures. If there is any leader who is emblematic of this confusion, it is Prashant Jagtap. The city president of Sharad Pawar’s NCP, he resigned in protest against any accommodation with Ajit Pawar’s faction, joined the Congress and is now contesting from Wanwadi. His move encapsulates the moral fatigue of cadre caught between loyalty and viability. Uncertainty had reigned until the final day of withdrawals as candidate lists were delayed and alliances were revised. Only the BJP moved swiftly to declare its slate, a small but telling advantage in a contest where clarity itself has become a political asset. For Pune, the danger is that pressing civic problems like water supply, transport and planning will be drowned out by the din of factional warfare. The four-way contest in Pune is a preview of a political order in which everyone runs, but no one quite leads.

BJP defends unopposed wins as opposition cries

Abhijit Mulye
2 hours ago
3 min read

Mumbai: As the dust settles on the nomination process for the 2026 Maharashtra Municipal Corporation elections, a massive political firestorm has erupted over the "unprecedented" number of candidates elected unopposed. While the ruling Mahayuti alliance, led by the BJP, celebrates these victories as a mandate for their governance, the Opposition has branded the trend a "murder of democracy," alleging a systemic campaign of coercion, bribery, and administrative bias. While the MNS has moved court over the issue, revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that the BJP is not worried as there is no “wrongdoing”.

Of the 2,869 seats across 29 municipal corporations heading to polls on January 15, nearly 68 candidates—the vast majority from the ruling Mahayuti—have already secured their seats without a single vote being cast. The BJP is the primary beneficiary, with 44 unopposed wins, particularly in strongholds like Kalyan-Dombivli (KDMC), Pune, and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena secured 22 seats, while the Ajit Pawar-led NCP took 2 seats. Interestingly, Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation, the flash point of clashes between the BJP and the Shiv Sena under Eknath Shinde, recorded the highest concentration of uncontested wins, with 22 seats decided at the withdrawal stage.

BJP’s Defiance

State Revenue Minister and senior BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule came out strongly in defense of the party’s gains on Monday. When asked about the questions raised by the opposition, Bawankule dismissed the Opposition's outcry and stated that the BJP is "not worried" about legal challenges.

"There have been no violations of any kind. Candidates withdraw for many reasons—sometimes they recognize the overwhelming support for our work, and sometimes they realize they lack the organizational strength to compete. If the Opposition wants to move court, they are free to do so, but the process has been entirely transparent," Bawankule remarked.

BJP leaders have further argued that these wins are a "certificate of good governance" and reflect the popularity of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the strategic planning of State President Ravindra Chavan.

The Opposition has reacted with unprecedented vitriol, alleging that candidates were forced out through a mix of financial inducements and police pressure.

Cash Scandal

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), led by Raj Thackeray, has announced it will move the High Court. MNS leader Avinash Jadhav alleged that their candidates in Thane and Kalyan received dozens of threatening calls and were even visited by local police to "persuade" them to withdraw.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut alleged a massive cash scandal, claiming that bags containing Rs 5 crore were delivered to opposition candidates in Jalgaon and other districts to ensure they stepped down. He referred to the State Election Commission (SEC) as a "pet cat" of the government.

The controversy took a dark turn in Solapur, where Congress MP Praniti Shinde alleged that a local MNS leader, Balasaheb Sarvate, was killed during a dispute related to ensuring an unopposed win for a BJP candidate.

Sensing the gravity of the situation, the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) has taken the unusual step of withholding the formal declaration of these winners. The SEC has ordered an inquiry into all wards where unopposed wins occurred. Returning officers, municipal commissioners, and police chiefs have been directed to submit detailed reports to confirm that no "coercive means, pressure, or allurement" were used. In Mumbai, the SEC is even reviewing CCTV footage from the office of the Returning Officer in Ward A following allegations of interference.

NOTA Demand

Beyond the political parties, civic activists and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have raised a technical but crucial point: the status of the NOTA (None of the Above) button. They argue that even if there is only one candidate, the election should proceed to allow voters to choose NOTA. If NOTA receives more votes than the lone candidate, they propose that a re-election should be mandatory to ensure true democratic representation.