Maharashtra civic polls: Walkover for many BJP-Sena nominees, SEC seeks reports
Once the report is submitted to the Commission, a final announcement is made, the official said, adding that a candidate is declared victorious once it is established that no foul play took place.
Of the 69 unopposed “victors”, 44 belong to the BJP, 22 to the Shinde Sena, two to the Ajit Pawar-led NCP and one to the Islamic Party. With candidates of the ruling Mahayuti alliance led by the BJP and the Shinde Shiv Sena being elected unopposed in 68 of 69 no-contest seats across municipal corporations in the state, less than two weeks before the polls scheduled for January 15, the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) Saturday put the declaration of results on hold and sought reports from local officials to confirm there was no foul play.
“As per rules, in case of an unopposed victory, we seek a report from the Returning Officer or the District Collector to ensure no force or any other means was used to intimidate other candidates from contesting,” a senior SEC official said.
Once the report is submitted to the Commission, a final announcement is made, the official said, adding that a candidate is declared victorious once it is established that no foul play took place.
Echoing this, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar, who is also the election official, told The Indian Express: “There are instructions from the State Election Commission from 2004 that if an unopposed election has taken place, we have to find out whether nomination withdrawal of other candidates had happened due to pressure. Accordingly, we will find out and send a report to the State Election Commission.”
Pune Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram said, “We are in the process of sending a report to the SEC regarding those who have been elected unopposed.” Both the PCMC and PMC commissioners said they had not received any complaint from any candidate or party so far.
The Opposition has already raised concerns over the unopposed elections and alleged use of force and money. Of the 69 unopposed “victors”, 44 belong to the BJP, 22 to the Shinde Sena, two to the Ajit Pawar-led NCP and one to the Islamic Party.
Of the BJP’s 44 elected unopposed, 15 won in Kalyan; six each in Bhiwandi, Panvel, Jalgaon; four in Dhule; three in Ahilyanagar; two each in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Of the 22 Shinde Sena winners, seven got a walkover in Thane, the home turf of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde; another seven in Kalyan; six in Jalgaon; and two in Bhiwandi. The Ajit Pawar-led NCP won two unopposed contests in Jalgaon. The Islamic Party candidate in Malegaon was elected unopposed.
The BJP hailed the victory of its candidates, crediting it to the development works carried out in the cities. State BJP president Ravindra Chavan rejected allegations of coercion and misuse of power. “These unopposed victories reflect the confidence that voters have in the development work carried out by the Mahayuti government under the leadership of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Since even Opposition candidates were convinced that voters would elect BJP candidates, they chose to withdraw from the race,” he said.
The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, on the other hand, demanded an investigation into the “so-called unopposed election” of candidates across Maharashtra.
Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut said, “This is something which we have never heard before. The State Election Commission should probe this so-called unopposed election and tell the people of Maharashtra whether these elections are really free and fair.”
Raut said civic commissioners should not merely send reports to the SEC but should conduct a thorough probe to find out whether those who withdrew from the race did so of their own will or were offered monetary consideration or threatened.
–With Zeeshan Shaikh in Mumbai
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