Mr. Jadhav has also sought a stay on the declaration of results in the 68 seats where candidates from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party were declared elected uncontested.
Mumbai: The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Monday filed a petition before the Bombay High Court challenging the unopposed election of 68 Mahayuti corporators across Maharashtra, alleging that rival candidates were forced to withdraw through coercion, threats or illegal inducements. In its petition, the MNS claimed that the withdrawals were not voluntary and reflected a systemic abuse of the electoral process. The party has also moved the State Election Commission (SEC) seeking intervention.
MNS leader Avinash Jadhav filed the plea seeking a detailed investigation into the “mass withdrawals” and questioned the transparency of the unopposed election process. The petition seeks a court-monitored probe into whether candidates were pressured or threatened into withdrawing their nominations and urges the court to lay down strict guidelines to prevent such practices in future elections.
Mr. Jadhav has also sought a stay on the declaration of results in the 68 seats where candidates from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party were declared elected uncontested. The petition is expected to come up for hearing in due course.
Municipal corporation elections across Maharashtra are scheduled for January 15, 2026, with 2,869 corporators to be elected across 29 municipal corporations. The controversy erupted after 68 candidates from Mahayuti alliance partners won unopposed following the withdrawal or disqualification of opposition nominees.
Mr. Jadhav also met the State Election Commissioner and demanded the formation of a high-level joint committee comprising retired judges and senior police officers to probe the matter. “While no ruling party candidate was disqualified, not a single opposition candidate won unopposed,” he alleged, describing the process as a fraud on voters and a result of corrupt practices. He has also sought the immediate dismissal of the officer concerned.
The issue has become a major flashpoint in the poll campaign. A day earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray urged the SEC to cancel the results in the 68 civic wards and re-initiate the electoral process.
The SEC has not yet officially declared results in the 68 wards and has sought reports from the respective Returning Officers. Under a 2004 SEC order, results of unopposed elections are announced only after the Returning Officer submits a report certifying that no coercion was used. “The process is meant to ensure that candidates elected unopposed did not force rivals out of the contest,” an election official said.
Of the uncontested candidates, 44 are from the BJP, 22 from the Shiv Sena, two from the NCP and one from the Islam Party in Malegaon. The SEC is expected to declare the results of unopposed candidates along with other results on January 16, when counting is scheduled.
