Maharashtra civic polls: Ticket row triggers unrest among ruling party aspirants

Maharashtra witnessed widespread political turbulence on Tuesday as the process of filing nominations for the 15 January civic elections drew to a close, triggering protests and dramatic scenes across party lines in several cities.

Voters in 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik and Thane, are set to elect corporators in the long-pending civic polls. However, the run-up to the elections has been marred by sharp dissent, largely centred on ticket allocation and alliance-driven seat sharing.

Nashik emerged as a major flashpoint, with disgruntled BJP aspirants protesting against the distribution of AB forms, issued to official party candidates. Party sources said vehicles carrying AB forms were chased on city roads, including a car belonging to city BJP president Sunil Kedar, which was pursued along the Nashik–Mumbai highway. The convoy reportedly included vehicles of BJP MLAs Rahul Dhikle and Seema Hiray.

Tensions also flared in ward No. 26, where a heated exchange took place between BJP office-bearer Kailas Ahire and MLA Seema Hiray, with Ahire alleging an attempt to block his candidature. Protests were reported from areas such as Panchavati and New CIDCO, where aspirants accused the party of overlooking long-standing workers in favour of newer entrants. The nomination of Riddhish Nimse, son of former corporator Uddhav Nimse, currently lodged in jail in a murder case, further fuelled controversy.

Senior BJP leader and district guardian minister Girish Mahajan acknowledged the discontent, saying the situation was unfortunate but inevitable given the high number of aspirants compared to available seats.

In Nagpur, an emotionally charged incident drew attention when Shiv Sena worker Yogesh Gonnade received his party’s AB form at the crematorium where his mother’s last rites were underway. After completing the rituals, he went on to file his nomination from ward No. 5 of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation just minutes before the deadline.

The city also saw BJP workers staging protests outside the residence of Union minister Nitin Gadkari after being denied tickets. Some workers reportedly broke down in public, while others issued extreme threats, alleging that loyal party members had been bypassed in favour of recent entrants.

Mumbai, too, saw unrest across parties. Aspirants from the Shiv Sena (UBT) protested outside ‘Matoshree’, the residence of party chief Uddhav Thackeray, with sloganeering reported from areas such as Mankhurd and Dharavi. In the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, workers in Dahisar waved black flags against MLA Prakash Surve after ward No. 3 was allotted to the BJP under the alliance arrangement. Local leaders accused the party of imposing an “external” candidate without consulting grassroots workers.

Similar resentment surfaced in Chembur, where several BJP aspirants filed nominations as independents after the party reportedly allotted a ticket to a former corporator who had joined the BJP only days earlier.

In Jalgaon, internal discord hit the Ajit Pawar-led NCP after city president Abhishek Patil resigned, citing differences with senior leaders over seat allocation.

Thane witnessed some of the most intense scenes, as disappointed aspirants and youth leaders revolted following seat-sharing decisions within the ruling Mahayuti alliance. Party sources said the Shiv Sena leadership denied tickets to the sons of senior leaders, triggering resignations and independent nominations by youth leaders. BJP election in-charge Sanjay Kelkar admitted dissatisfaction with the alliance, claiming the party was denied seats even in areas of strong voter support.

Amid the political drama, several human moments stood out. In Thane, BJP leader Sunesh Joshi filed his nomination quietly after losing his father earlier in the day. In neighbouring Mumbra, an NCP candidate arrived in an ambulance to submit her papers after being hospitalised following a fire accident at her residence.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena announced it had fielded 28 Marathi candidates in Thane, aligning with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) for the civic polls, as Maharashtra heads into a fiercely contested urban election season.

With PTI inputs