Maharashtra: Mahayuti win 66 unopposed seats

In municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra, the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition has won 66 wards and Ajit Pawar's NCP two. The highest number of winners is from the crucial Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), where 21 Mahayuti candidates have been elected - 15 from the BJP and six from the Shiv Sena.

Jalgaon in North Maharashtra, which has been a fertile political ground for both the BJP and the Shiv Sena, has also contributed a dozen corporators to both parties, with each getting six wins. The trend continued in MMR's Panvel too, where seven BJP candidates have won. The party also recorded six uncontested victories in Bhiwandi, which has been an NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) faction stronghold for a while. In Thane, the Shinde led Shiv Sena has managed to secure six victories. Raj Thackeray's MNS staged a protest in the district, questioning the process and the approach of the ruling dispensation. In Dhule, three BJP candidates won uncontested, while the NCP won two seats and the BJP one in Ahilya Nagar.

Meanwhile, a total of 1,729 candidates are in the fray for the January 15 Mumbai civic polls after 453 nomination papers were withdrawn before the 3 pm deadline on Friday. In a release, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said the list of candidates in the election fray will be published on January 3 after election symbols are allotted from 11 am onwards. "The withdrawal window was open between 11 am and 3 pm on Friday across 23 Returning Officer (RO) offices. Following withdrawals, the electoral picture became clear, with 1,729 candidates set to contest the civic polls," the release said.