Maharashtra civic polls voting begins, BJP-Shiv Sena engaged in friendly fights
Maharashtra civic polls voting begins, BJP-Shiv Sena engaged in friendly fights
M.U.H
02/12/202520
Maharashtra is set for a high-intensity battle on Tuesday, as voting has begun for the first phase of the long-awaited civic polls. The elections are also testing the ruling coalition’s cohesion as the BJP and Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) are set for several “friendly fights”.
Polling is being held across 242 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats to elect 6,859 members and 288 presidents in the state. The results for the first phase will be announced on Wednesday, December 3.
The December 2 polls are widely seen as the first major indicator of political sentiment since the BJP-led Mahayuti’s sweeping victory in the November 2024 assembly elections, where it secured 235 of 288 seats.
But there are “friendly fights” between the BJP and the Shinde Sena, with both coalition partners fielding candidates on several seats.
Tensions between the two allies have escalated over the past two weeks, especially in Sindhudurg district, where Shiv Sena MLA Nilesh Rane is facing his younger brother, BJP MLA Nitesh Rane, in the Kankavali Municipal Council election.
On November 27, Nilesh Rane barged into a BJP worker’s house and summoned the local police to seize cash found on the premises. The money, Nilesh alleged, was stashed away to distribute among voters, sparking a verbal spat with his brother, which continued until the closing hours of campaigning.
On Monday, another tussle between the two parties came to the fore in Sangola, Solapur, when the Election Commission raided the house of Shiv Sena leader and former MLA Shahaji Patil, along with some other local Sena leaders.
The Shiv Sena questioned the timing of the raid, alleging it was due to Patil's attack on BJP leader and Solapur guardian minister Jaykumar Gore during a campaign rally.
Shinde admitted to a recent exchange of allegations between the two top leaders but dismissed the tensions as by-products of highly localised contests.
“Yes, it's true that I made allegations against the CM, and he also made allegations against me,” Shinde told reporters on Monday. “But you need to understand that these elections are local elections, which are fought on very local issues and by local party workers. Big political issues do not need to be brought up. Workers like to see their senior leadership join them in election campaigns.”
Fadnavis downplayed the 'friendly fights', stressing that he had not commented against any party - opponents or allies - throughout the campaign. He claimed that he was only supporting the candidates of his party.
“These are local body elections where our workers contest and work the hardest,” Fadnavis said. “It is our responsibility to come and support them. I have not made comments against anyone, not even opponents. I only campaign in support of our candidates.”
Polling rescheduled
Elections for at least 20 municipal corporations across several districts in Maharashtra have been postponed after the SEC detected widespread irregularities in the appeals process related to rejected nomination papers. Voting, earlier scheduled for December 2, will now take place on December 20 in these areas.
The affected seats include Baramati and Talegaon in Pune; Devlali, Kopargaon, Nevasa, and Pathardi in Ahilyanagar; Phaltan and Mahabaleshwar in Satara; Digras, Pandharkavda, and Wani in Yavatmal; Ghuggus, Gadchandur, and Mul in Chandrapur; Balapur in Akola; Anjangaon-Surji in Amravati; Dharashiv in Dharashiv district; Mangalvedha in Solapur; Badlapur in Thane, and Mukhed and Dharmabad in Nanded district.
