Multi-cornered contests, deep divisions within the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, reflected in the Congress and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray fighting separately and lack of a robust plan among its rivals helped the Bharatiya Janata Party in Mumbai polls as it looks poised to rule India's richest civic body for the first time.
The Shiv Sena-UBT-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena panel has lost all 21 seats in the election to the BEST Employees Cooperative Credit Society Ltd, a platform where the two parties came together, sparking buzz about a pan-Maharashtra alliance.
'If the BJP had contested all 227 seats, I believe they would have managed to secure a majority on their own.'
The Congress won nearly half of the 2,105 wards in the contest in the first local elections held in the state after the party came to power in Rajasthan last December.
The AAP may secure 43 per cent share while the BJP is expected to get 35 per cent vote share.
'This daylight robbery of elections is happening in the commercial capital of India, Mumbai city, so you can imagine what they will do to win elections in the interiors of India.'
'This will split the Marathi and Shiv Sena vote.' 'The BJP has conducted 3 surveys indicating they shall secure 109 seats in the BMC.' 'They do not wish for the Shinde Sena to demonstrate excessive strength in the BMC.' 'If the Thackerays secure 60-70 seats, that will affect Shinde's seats.'
A division bench of Justice D K Upadhyay and Justice Saurav Lavania also annulled the draft notification issued by the Uttar Pradesh government on December 5 for reservation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the urban local body elections.
Upset over being denied tickets by the Bharatiya Janata Party despite being its 'loyal workers for years', several aspirants have rebelled against the party and are now contesting the upcoming elections to the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) as independent candidates.
'This is purely transactional politics -- there exists no family reunion as such.'
The violent protests forced the Nagaland CM to call off the elections.
Mumbai suburban district saw an addition of 95,630 new voters, taking its tally to 77.81 lakh, while Mumbai city added 18,741 names, raising its voter base to 25.62 lakh.
The Maharashtra State Election Commission on Friday said polls to local bodies from other backward class reserved constituencies, which were scheduled on December 21, will now be held on January 18 and these seats will be converted as general category ones.
'Talks are on between Uddhav Thackeray and other party leaders (about whether to go solo) for the BMC polls. Workers want the party to contest the polls solo'
An average 46.1 per cent voter turnout has been recorded in the elections to six municipal corporations in Gujarat, officials said on Monday.
Amid an ongoing power tussle in the ruling Congress, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called on party president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence here, and dismissed speculation of a leadership change in the state.
A coordination body of Ganesh mandals in Mumbai has appealed to them to keep the Ganpati festival apolitical, specially in view of the upcoming city civic body polls, and promote Marathi language and culture during the celebrations.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray has voiced strong opposition to the cutting of trees for the construction of a 'Sadhu Gram' in Nashik ahead of the Kumbh Mela, urging the government to reconsider the decision. Actor Sayaji Shinde has also joined the protest, threatening opposition if the government proceeds with the tree removal.
Hitting out at Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar for indulging in a blame game over the MVA's defeat in the state assembly, Raut said those who don't believe in consensus and compromise have no right to be in an alliance.
The Maharashtra government has moved the Supreme Court seeking recall of its order by which it had directed the State Election Commission (SEC) not to re-notify the poll process to 367 local bodies, where it has already commenced, in order to provide reservation to OBCs.
The Congress party extends best wishes to the newly-elected Vice President of India, C P Radhakrishnan, while recalling the words of the first Vice President, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, on the importance of free criticism in a democracy.
These civic body bypolls were a litmus test for the BJP, as they were its first big electoral battle after coming to power in Delhi in February this year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed NDA parliamentarians, emphasizing that laws and regulations should serve the convenience of the common people and not cause harassment.
The EC postponed polls to 4 municipal corporations by three weeks to February 12.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and MNS head Raj Thackeray met at a hotel in Mumbai on Thursday morning.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday took a major step to implement its key plank of "one nation, one election" as the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the constitutional amendment bill to roll out the concept of simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly polls, sources said.
The BJP registered emphatic victories in seven municipal corporations in Haryana, while its nominees were leading in two other civic bodies in the recently held elections. The Congress, which was hoping to improve its electoral fortunes after a defeat in the 2024 Assembly polls, suffered another setback. The BJP candidates won with large margins in Faridabad, Gurugram, Hisar, Karnal, Rohtak, Sonipat, and Ambala. The BJP was also leading in Yamunanagar and Panipat. In Manesar, an Independent candidate, Inderjeet Yadav, won the mayoral election. The results are seen as a major setback for the Congress, which has been facing internal turmoil and factionalism.
The Congress won in five local bodies, while the BJP was confined to three.
The ULB polls were also considered as indicative of the voters' mood before the next Lok Sabha elections.
Asked about going with Raj Thackeray, who has spoken often against north Indians in Mumbai, Chennithala said, "We do not agree with Raj Thackeray's statement about ousting people from North from Mumbai."
The order that was passed less than a week ahead of the first phase of polls scheduled on October 10 throws a spanner in the election process.
The humiliation for the Telugu Desam Party was such that it could cross the double digit in only five urban local bodies while other opposition parties Bharatiya Janata Party and Jana Sena Partymade little gains.
With the total number of municipal wards set to be revised following the passage of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill-2022 in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, experts have said that the civic polls in New Delhi is unlikely to take place before a year from now as a fresh delimitation exercise will be required.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has begun preparations for polls to the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, as well as other major civic bodies including Pune and Thane, likely to be held later this year.
Gujarat State Election Commission has announced postponement of polls to various local bodies in the state, citing law and order situation as a reason.
A high-level panel on 'One Nation, One Election' studied election processes in seven countries including South Africa, Sweden and Belgium before recommending simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and state assemblies in India. The other countries where simultaneous elections are conducted are Germany, Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The Union Cabinet approved bills to implement 'One Nation, One Election', and the draft legislations are likely to be introduced in Parliament in the ongoing Winter session.
The Union Cabinet on Tuesday gave its nod to a bill to merge the three municipal corporations in Delhi, sources in the government said.
Elections to 92 nagar parishads and four nagar panchayats in Maharashtra will be held on August 18, the State Election Commission (SEC) announced on Friday.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray criticized the BJP over the arrest of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and accused the party of corruption and divisive politics during his Dussehra rally.
The opposition party is likely to use this new-age technology to reach out to a wider section of people, specially youngsters who are tech-savvy.
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