According to election officials, the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the biggest beneficiary, winning 44 seats without contest, followed by the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena with 22 seats. The Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party managed to secure two seats unopposed. These candidates were declared elected after no rival nominations remained in their respective wards at the close of the withdrawal period.
Under election rules, a candidate is elected unopposed if only one nomination remains valid for a seat and no other contender files or sustains a challenge. This situation arose in 68 wards, eliminating the need for voting in those constituencies. Polling will now take place for the remaining 2,801 seats across the state’s municipal bodies.
A significant number of the BJP’s unopposed victories came from the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation in Thane district. Other such wins were recorded in Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Panvel, Bhiwandi, Dhule, Jalgaon, and Ahilyanagar. In Pune, BJP candidates Manjusha Nagpure and Shrikant Jagtap were elected unopposed from Ward No. 35, a seat they also held during the 2017–2022 term.
The opposition has sharply criticised the ruling alliance over the unopposed wins. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Avinash Jadhav questioned the democratic process, alleging that elections were rendered meaningless if outcomes were decided before voting. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant echoed similar concerns, accusing the ruling parties of exerting pressure on opposition candidates to withdraw.
In Mumbai, electoral dynamics remain complex. Of the 227 seats in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, 32 will witness a direct contest between the BJP–Shiv Sena alliance and the Shiv Sena (UBT)–MNS combine. This has occurred after the Congress and its ally, the Bahujan Vanchit Aghadi, chose not to field candidates in those wards, potentially preventing a split in opposition votes.
The BMC elections carry high political stakes, as control of Mumbai’s civic body—Asia’s richest municipal corporation with a budget of nearly ₹74,000 crore—is seen as a measure of political dominance in the state. With voting imminent, the early unopposed victories have intensified the battle between the Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliances.
