Major Setback for Mahayuti as Four BMC Wards Slip Away Due to Nomination Lapse

The Mahayuti alliance, which is running the Maharashtra government, has maintained extreme secrecy about its candidates until the very last moment for filing nominations for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election. They maintained this secrecy to ensure that the rebel candidates did not get any chance to submit their papers. But this strategy backfired as the BJP–Shinde Sena Mahayuti failed to field candidates in four wards, effectively conceding those wards. So now, out of 227 wards, Mahayuti candidates will battle in only 223 wards.

Wards Where Mahayuti Did Not Field Candidates:
While in many wards across Maharashtra, Mahayuti candidates have been elected unopposed, the alliance will not have candidates in wards 211 and 212 in South Mumbai, ward 145 in Trombay-Cheeta Camp area, and ward number 167 in Kurla West. This makes it clear that only opposition parties will be fighting this election in these 4 wards. 

Traditionally, it was common practice to file a nomination for a dummy candidate along with the official candidate. The reason was that if the official candidate’s nomination was rejected for any reason, the dummy candidate’s form could be made valid, allowing them to contest the election. This time, however, due to confusion over seat-sharing and the secrecy maintained, dummy candidate nominations were not filed, sources said.

Also Read: Devendra Fadnavis on BJP-Congress Alliance in Maharashtra Civic Body Polls

Opposition Parties Contesting In These 4 Wards:
Ward 145: Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar), Congress, and Uddhav Sena
Ward 167: Congress, Uddhav Sena, and Samajwadi Party
Ward 211: Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar), Congress, and Samajwadi Party
Ward 212: Congress, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), and Akhil Bharatiya Sena