Ahead of the polling for the Maharashtra municipal corporation scheduled to be held on January 15, the ruling Mahayuti - comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Shinde Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) - has secured a victory on 64 seats. This comes after several of the opposition candidates withdrew their names on Friday, which was the last day of withdrawal, allowing Mahayuti candidates to get elected unopposed.
Among the Mahayuti partners, the BJP was the biggest gainer, as 44 of its candidates have won unopposed. In addition to this, 22 candidates of the Shiv Sena and two candidates of the NCP have been elected unopposed.
A look at region-wise victories of Mahayuti
In Kalyan-Dombivli, 15 BJP candidates have been elected unopposed. BJP has also secured a victory on six seats each in Bhiwandi, Panvel, and Jalgaon. In Dhule and Ahilyanagar, four and three BJP candidates secured victory, respectively. Besides, BJP candidates have won two seats each in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
Talking about the Shiv Sena, seven of its candidates won unopposed in Thane, and six each in Kalyan-Dombivli and Jalgaon. Two candidates of the NCP have also won unopposed in Ahilyanagar. Besides, a candidate of a local Islamic party was elected unopposed in Malegaon.
Mahayuti's victory and Maharashtra civic body elections
The Mahayuti's victory on 64 seats will boost the ruling alliance's confidence ahead of the municipal corporation elections. It should be noted that the alliance had already swept the municipal council and nagar panchayat elections in the state, which were conducted last month, further strengthening its position in Maharashtra after sweeping the 2024 Assembly elections.
Coming to the next civic body elections, the polling for all municipal corporations, including the BMC, will be held on January 15. The results will be declared by the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) on January 16.
