From car chases to crematoriums: Maharashtra parties reel under civic poll ticket chaos

Mumbai: Maharashtra witnessed a wave of unrest across political parties, marked by dramatic scenes in Nashik, Nagpur and growing dissent in Mumbai, Jalgaon and other cities over ticket distribution for civic polls as nominations for the January 15 elections ended on Tuesday.

Voters across 29 municipal corporations, including those of Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik and Thane, will elect their corporators in the long-delayed polls to the biggest cities of Maharashtra.

Nashik emerged as a flashpoint on the final day of filing nominations for civic polls as disgruntled BJP aspirants allegedly chased vehicles carrying AB forms (given to official candidates of a party) on city roads.

The car of city BJP president Sunil Kedar was pursued by ticket seekers on the Nashik-Mumbai highway. The convoy included cars of BJP MLAs Rahul Dhikle and Seema Hiray, party sources said.

In Nashik’s ward number 26, a heated argument broke out between BJP office-bearer Kailas Ahire and MLA Seema Hiray over AB forms. Ahire accused the MLA of attempting to cut his ticket.

Aspirants from areas such as Panchavati and New CIDCO also staged protests, alleging loyal workers were being sidelined in favour of newcomers. The BJP's decision to field Riddhish Nimse, son of former corporator Uddhav Nimse, who is currently in jail in a murder case, added to the controversy in Nashik.

Senior BJP leader and district guardian minister Girish Mahajan said, “What happened was not appropriate. We have made commitments to workers who joined the BJP recently, and we had to keep our word. Compared to the actual number of available seats, the number of aspirants was way more than that.” In Nagpur, an emotionally charged episode unfolded involving Shiv Sena worker Yogesh Gonnade.

On the last day of filing nominations, Gonnade's mother passed away, prompting him to give up hopes of contesting the election. However, Shiv Sena leaders reached the crematorium and handed him the AB form while the last rites were underway.

After performing the funeral rituals, Gonnade filed his nomination from ward No. 5 of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation just minutes before the deadline.

Nagpur also saw BJP workers protesting outside the residence of Union minister Nitin Gadkari after being denied tickets. Some workers broke down, while others allegedly threatened self-immolation, claiming party tickets were given to candidates who had joined the BJP barely a year and a half ago, bypassing long-serving workers.

In Mumbai, unrest was reported across parties. Aspirants from the Shiv Sena (UBT) protested outside 'Matoshree', the residence of party president Uddhav Thackeray in suburban Bandra, after being denied candidature, with sloganeering reported from areas such as Mankhurd and Dharavi.

In the Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, party workers in Dahisar waved black flags against MLA Prakash Surve after ward No. 3 was allotted to the BJP as part of a pre-poll alliance between the two saffron outfits.

Local Shiv Sena shakha (branch) chief Prakash Pujari and supporters alleged local workers were kept in the dark while the seat was handed to BJP MLC Pravin Darekar's brother, Prakash. Ticket aspirant Vaishnavi Pujari accused senior leaders of imposing an "external" candidate.

In Chembur's ward No. 155, BJP aspirants Jayshree Kharat, Harsh Salve and Shashikala Kamble filed nominations as independents after the party reportedly gave a ticket to former corporator Shrikant Shetye, who joined the BJP from the Shiv Sena (UBT) just two days earlier.

In Jalgaon, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar-led NCP faced internal strife after city president Abhishek Patil resigned abruptly, citing differences with district president Sanjay Pawar and former minister Gulabrao Deokar over seat allocation.

To protest the denial of candidature, some ticket aspirants locked the gate of a Congress office in Nashik. They alleged MP Shobha Bachhav, state office-bearer Sharad Aher and Congress city unit president Akash Chhajed gave candidature to rich “outsiders”, ignoring activists who have been with the party for the last 25-30 years.

They said the Congress got only 16 seats to contest in Nashik as part of an alliance.

In Thane, high drama and internal rebellion marked the final day of nominations for the municipal corporation elections.

As seat-sharing finalisations within the Mahayuti alliance (BJP and Shiv Sena) left many aspirants disappointed, prominent families and youth leaders found themselves sidelined.

Party sources said Shiv Sena leadership has reportedly denied tickets to sons of Thane MP Naresh Mhaske and Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik.

The tension escalated as several youth leaders revolted. Shiv Sena members Swapnil Landge and Nikhil Budjade distanced themselves from the party. Landge abruptly resigned from the Yuva Sena and filed his nomination independently along with Budjade.

Thane MLA and BJP election chief Sanjay Kelkar said, "We are not entirely satisfied (with alliance) as we did not get seats even in wards where we have full voter support.” In the city, BJP leader Sunesh Joshi went to file his nomination without any fanfare after his father passed in the morning. In neighbouring Mumbra, NCP(AP) candidate Sangeeta Palekar came in an ambulance to file her nomination. She was hospitalised on Monday after suffering burns in a fire at her residence.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has fielded 28 Marathi candidates in Thane. It has allied with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) in Thane.