Uncertainty over alliances: ‘Wait till Nov 17 when nominations for local body elections end,’ says CM Fadnavis

Written by Alok Deshpande

Mumbai | November 16, 2025 09:08 PM IST

3 min read

CM Devendra Fadnavis said, “This is not a state assembly election. This is a local election where local units have been asked to decide the candidature." (File Photo)

Uncertainty over alliance in the upcoming local body elections looming large, both ruling and Opposition parties on Sunday asked for patience and wait till November 17 — the last date of filing nominations — to get a clearer picture on the poll alliances.

Speaking to reporters in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis said, “This is not a state assembly election. This is a local election where local units have been asked to decide the candidature. There are some places where the Mahayuti is fighting elections together, at some places two parties are together while at some no alliance has taken place. We can give the exact information about the alliances only after Tuesday.”

The schedule for the elections to 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats in the state under the first phase of the multi-phase local body polls was announced by the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) in the first week of November. The voting will be held on December 2, and the counting will be on December 3.

The ruling Mahayuti alliance has already witnessed cracks with the BJP and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar allying, while keeping out Shiva Sena, led by another Deputy CM Eknath Shinde.
In Dharashiv district of Marathwada region, the Mahayuti is planning to contest unitedly. In Solapur, the BJP has decided to go solo against the mighty Mohite-Patil family, which has been controlling the Akluj municipal council without interruption. Dhairyasheel Mohite-Patil, a member of the family is opposition NCP (SP) Lok Sabha MP from Madha seat. The ruling NCP too has decided to fight independently, making it a triangular fight.

In Nashik, the BJP is allying with Shinde led Sena, keeping NCP out. In Vidarbha’s Bhandara, all parties are contesting independently. In Kolhapur’s Chandgad, NCP has decided to ally with opposition Nationalist Congress Party (SP), led by veteran politician Sharad Pawar.

Opposition NCP (SP) working president and LS MP Supriya Sule also said Sunday that the clear picture of alliance will be out after November 17, after the nominations end. “Our president Sharad Pawar has clarified that this is a local election and local units have been authorised to take a decision based on the local conditions. The fronts and alliances will be formed at that level. It is only on Tuesday (November 17) morning that we can tell you how many seats the party is fighting,” she said.

Another Opposition party, Congress, has ordered its local units to ally with any party other than from the Mahayuti. “We have already given the authority to our local party workers to form an alliance as per the local condition. The only condition is that the ally must not be from the Mahayuti,” said state Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal.

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The party has already formed an alliance with Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) in Nanded, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Buldhana and with Rashtriya Samaj Party (RSP) led by Dhangar leader Mahadev Jankar in Satara.

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