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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.