Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday urged the State Election Commission to cancel results in 68 civic wards where candidates of the ruling Mahayuti were declared elected unopposed, arguing that such outcomes effectively deny first-time voters and Gen Z citizens their right to vote.
Sharing the stage with Raj Thackeray while unveiling their joint manifesto for the upcoming Mumbai civic polls, Uddhav warned against democracy slipping into “mobocracy”. Launching a sharp attack on the Mahayuti government, he alleged that since his government was ousted in June 2022 and Eknath Shinde assumed office, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s finances were being squandered on contractors. He claimed that after “stealing votes”, the ruling alliance was now “stealing candidates”.
Raj Thackeray accused the BJP of double standards, recalling that the party had approached the Supreme Court of India in similar cases in West Bengal where ruling party candidates were elected unopposed. He asked the BJP to clarify its stand now that 68 Mahayuti candidates—44 of them from the BJP—have won without contest in Maharashtra, largely due to withdrawals by rivals or rebels.
Responding to the criticism, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the people’s mandate would prevail even if the Opposition moved the courts. Speaking at a roadshow in Chandrapur, he said, “They can certainly go to court, but the people’s court has elected us.” He also questioned the Opposition’s silence on unopposed victories of independents and Muslim candidates, alleging that the protests stemmed from a fear of defeat.
Referring to the uncontested results ahead of the January 15 elections to 29 civic bodies, Uddhav said the State Election Commission should have the courage to cancel polls in wards where candidates were elected unopposed and restart the process. Such outcomes, he said, amounted to denying voters—especially the Gen Z electorate—the opportunity to exercise their franchise.
Uddhav also alleged large-scale financial irregularities at the BMC, claiming that if its expenditure budget stood at ₹15,000 crore, advance mobilisation payments to contractors had ballooned to ₹3 lakh crore, which he termed a “scam”. He further alleged that kickbacks were being used to fund civic election campaigns.
The Sena (UBT) chief demanded the suspension of Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, accusing him of interfering in the nomination process and tampering with CCTV footage. Narwekar, a BJP MLA from Colaba, has rejected the allegations as baseless and politically motivated.
Both Thackeray cousins indicated that the “sons-of-the-soil” plank would be a central theme of their campaign, particularly in Mumbai. Raj Thackeray asserted that Mumbai and other cities would have Marathi mayors and stressed the need to respect the local language, warning the ruling alliance that power is not permanent.
A total of 15,931 candidates are contesting 2,869 seats across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. Except for Mumbai, which has 227 seats, the remaining corporations have multi-member wards. Votes will be counted on January 16.
