Maha local body polls: Oppn accuse BJP, Ajit Pawar of resorting to unethical practices

Reacting to Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan’s statement that 100 BJP councillors have already been “elected unopposed” ahead of the forthcoming polls scheduled to be held from December 2, 2025, Maharashtra state Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal called the local body elections a “farce”, accusing the BJP of “blatantly misusing power”.

“They used the term ‘jungle raj’ in Bihar but are intimidating Opposition candidates in Maharashtra. They have crossed all limits,” Sapkal said.

Advertisement

Chavan had said that the four councillors who were “elected unopposed” hailed from the Konkan region, while 49 are from North Maharashtra, 41 from Western Maharashtra and three each from the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions.

Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena leader Ambadas Danve targeted the BJP’s ally, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, asking whether free and fair elections were possible when top leaders like Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar were “threatening” voters. “When the Deputy CM, who is also the finance minister of Maharashtra (Ajit PAwar), bargains for votes citing development funds, what kind of free and fair polls are we talking about? What is the Election Commission doing,” he asked.

Danve was referring to Ajit Pawar’s speech at a rally on Saturday when he said, “I am ready to deliver everything I have promised if you ensure victory of all my 18 candidates. Votes are in your hand, funds are in my hand.”

However, so far, the Maharashtra State Election Commission has not issued any statement about the unethical campaigning methods used by ministers.

After Ajit Pawar’s speech kicked up a row, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis dismissed Ajit Pawar’s comments saying, “Political leaders often try to push their party workers or
candidates, but that does not mean that they were indulging in wrongdoing or luring voters”.

Fadnavis also rejected the allegations of coercion as “baseless”, stating that the BJP “believes and strictly adheres to democracy and the election mechanism”. “Getting elected unopposed only demonstrates the people’s trust in the BJP leadership and the party’s development work,” he said.

Last week, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule told BJP workers in Gadchiroli “Not to worry about expenses”. After the statement became controversial, he claimed that he had merely referred to arrangements at the BJP office, and not election expenses.

Earlier, BJP leader and Posts Development Minister Nitesh Rane made a similar statement. He said, “Villages not associated with the BJP will not get development funds.”