Political activity is increasing amid Maharashtra Municipal Corporation elections. Meanwhile, a strange case is coming to light from Pune Municipal Corporation. A case of Eknath Shinde’s candidate in the Pune Municipal Corporation elections tearing the AB form and swallowing it has come to light. A case has been registered against Shiv Sena’s rival candidate on this allegation.

The incident took place in Dhankawadi Sahakarnagar ward office. Later, a case was registered against Shiv Sena candidate Uddhav Kamble (34) at Bharati Vidyapeeth police station.

Shiv Sena leader swallowed the form after heated debate

Actually, AB forms were issued to two candidates of Shiv Sena for the Municipal Corporation elections to be held on January 15 in Ward No. 34 of Pune city. There was a heated debate on this issue between Shiv Sena candidates Kamble and Machindra Dhawale.

Police said that during the argument, Kamble allegedly snatched Dhawale’s AB forms, tore them and swallowed them. A case has been registered for obstructing a government employee in his official duties during the election process. We are investigating the matter.

Maharashtra Municipal Corporation elections on 15 January

It is known that elections will be held in 29 municipal corporations of Maharashtra including Pune Municipal Corporation on January 15. To file their nomination in this election, candidates fill the AB form. Form A and B are the necessary documents under which a political party declares a person as its candidate in the election.

Before the municipal elections including BMC in Maharashtra, the alliance between Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray has created a new stir in the politics of the state. Now the reaction of Deputy CM Eknath Shinde has also come out regarding this alliance. He has said that this alliance has been made not for the people of Mumbai but for the chair.

Ahead of the elections, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde said, “Mahayuti is strong and we have a clear agenda of development, but today some people have come together just for the agenda of the chair. They have nothing to do with Mumbaikars.”

Congress- Uddhav group workers join Shiv Sena

In fact, on Wednesday (December 24), hundreds of Shiv Sena UBT and Congress officials and workers from Nashik and Kolhapur districts joined Shiv Sena in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Shinde. On this occasion, Eknath Shinde, while targeting the Uddhav Thackeray group, said that some alliances are in the interest of the public and the state, while some are done for selfishness, power and survival. No matter who has alliance with anyone, Mahayuti is strong in Maharashtra.

‘The public showed them their place’

He further said, “Mahayuti has won both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. In the city councils, Shiv Sena alone has elected the maximum number of city presidents as compared to the three parties of Mahavikas Aghadi. The people of Maharashtra have shown their place in three and a half years to those who left Balasaheb’s ideas.”

‘Mumbai is considered a hen that lays golden eggs’

Deputy Chief Minister Shinde also said, “Till now, Mumbai was considered a hen that lays golden eggs. Earlier they kept eating the eggs and now they have come together to slaughter the hen. In today’s press conference, they did not say even a word on the development of Mumbai. Mahayuti has an agenda of development, whereas they have an agenda of power and chair. They have gathered to get power and save the chair.”

The seat sharing formula of Mahayuti is now considered almost fixed. There was a detailed discussion on finalizing the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance in a marathon meeting between Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and BJP State President Ravindra Chavan at Shinde’s residence in Thane that lasted for about five hours.

This meeting started late in the night and continued till 4 in the morning, in which there were indications of agreement on coordination of seats in various municipalities of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) including Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli. The alliance has now reached the final stage and an official announcement is likely to be made soon.

Who attended the meeting?

Shiv Sena MP Dr. Shrikant Shinde, MP Naresh Mhaske and General Secretary Rahul Shewale were also present in the meeting. According to sources, in the next two days, discussions will be held at the local level regarding division (ward) level candidates, so that the names can be decided keeping in mind the ground equations. During this, the leadership, achievements and efficiency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi were also discussed in detail, where the leaders present shared their personal experiences with PM Modi and emphasized on strengthening the alliance.

Devendra Fadnavis and Ravindra Chavan’s pair is finding love!

Bharatiya Janata Party has once again proved itself to be the number-1 party in the Municipal Council and Nagar Panchayat elections of Maharashtra. BJP has achieved historic success in these elections on the basis of development-oriented politics of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and strong organizational ability, precise strategy and effective leadership of BJP State President Ravindra Chavan.

These results of local self-rule organizations have further strengthened the credibility of the “Devendra-Ravindra” duo, which has been held in high regard for a long time among Maharashtra BJP workers. The slogan echoed during the election campaign “Tumchi Aamchi BJP Sarvanchi” (Your-Our BJP, Everyone’s BJP) has been realized by the public in the form of votes. State President Ravindra Chavan said this while talking to journalists after the results.

Ravindra Chavan is playing an important role!

Ravindra Chavan, after assuming the responsibility of state president six months ago, ran a disciplined, restrained and aggressive public relations campaign across Maharashtra. During this period, the organization was strengthened by including many senior leaders in BJP. These elections were considered to be the real test of the leadership of Ravindra Chavan, who had a strong hold in the Konkan region, in which he proved successful by getting full marks.

In these elections, in many parts of the state, BJP was in direct competition with Shinde faction’s Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction). Despite this, due to the political acumen of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and organizational ability of Ravindra Chavan, BJP won many important places. Besides, both the leaders did the math very well to ensure that the balance of power is maintained in the Grand Alliance.

The discussion has also intensified in the political circles that through these results, BJP has given a message of its political status to the leaders of the second row of allies. These election results have also given a new dimension to the ongoing speculations regarding the relationship between Shrikant Shinde and Ravindra Chavan.

Now all eyes are on the municipal elections to be held in January, especially the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). It is believed that if the Devendra-Ravindra duo moves forward with a similar strategy, then BJP’s dominance can continue in the coming municipal elections also. In such a situation, it will be very important politically to see with what strategy the allies of Mahayuti enter the field.

Preparations of all political parties for BMC elections 2026 are going on in full swing. Meanwhile, seat sharing is also being discussed in Mahayuti. Last night (Monday, December 22) an almost two-hour long meeting of Mahayuti took place at Varsha Bungalow. According to sources, before this, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held a separate meeting with his senior leaders and reviewed the upcoming municipal elections, in which an in-depth discussion was held especially regarding the Mumbai Municipal Corporation.

Quoting sources, it has been revealed that consensus has already been reached on 150 seats of Mumbai Municipal Corporation, while the remaining 77 seats were discussed on the night of Monday, December 22. During this time, consensus has been reached on about 30 to 35 seats, while it has been agreed to hold another meeting soon and take a final decision regarding the remaining seats.

Seat sharing will be finalized in a day or two

It was also decided in the meeting that the final seal on seat distribution would be given by the afternoon of Tuesday or Wednesday (23 or 24 December).

What happened in MVA so far?

The equations of the opposition grand alliance party of Maharashtra now seem to be changing. Amidst the departure of Congress and the possibility of entry of Raj Thackeray, seat sharing is also being discussed in a new way. Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena UBT currently has 145 seats out of 227 seats in Mumbai. At the same time, Raj Thackeray’s MNS can still get 65 to 70 seats. Apart from this, Sharad Pawar’s NCP SP may get 10 to 12 seats.

Apart from this, Raj Thackeray’s MNS has also decided to put a pause on the announcement of alliance until seat sharing is fully discussed. Once both the parties agree on seats, only then should the Thackeray brothers announce the alliance. In such a situation, it is believed that the alliance between Raj and Uddhav Thackeray has been postponed.

Elections have been announced for BMC, the country’s largest municipal corporation. Voting will be done on January 15 and counting of votes will take place on January 16. The big question is who will take over this municipal corporation dominated by Thackeray’s Shiv Sena this time? This time, along with the political scenario, the map has also changed in BMC.

There are 236 seats here, in 2017 there were 227 seats. BMC elections were to be held in the year 2022, but they were delayed due to issues related to ward delimitation and reservation. In September 2025, the Supreme Court had said that local body elections should be completed by January 31, 2026.

In the 2017 elections, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena emerged as the largest party and captured the post of Mayor in alliance with BJP. Shiv Sena had got maximum 84 seats. BJP had got 82 seats. Shiv Sena was united then under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray. Whereas Congress won 31 seats, NCP 9, MNS 7 and AIMIM won two seats.

This time, till the announcement of elections, there has been no announcement on the alliance formula in both the party and opposition camps. An alliance is expected with a friendly fight in the elections. BJP, Shiv Sena Shinde faction and Ajit Pawar’s NCP are definitely talking about fighting together, but there is every possibility of a friendly fight.

Angry Eknath Shinde!

In fact, during the Panchayat elections, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde appeared quite angry with the BJP’s stance. The party said that BJP has defeated their leaders.

Such was his displeasure that he did not even attend the cabinet meeting. However, after the elections, BJP did damage control. There was a long meeting between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shinde and after this BJP announced that we will fight the local elections together. At the same time, BJP is angry with Ajit Pawar’s NCP. NCP has given command of BMC elections to Nawab Malik, BJP is opposing it. In such a situation, the time to come will tell what will be the equation of Mahayuti in the elections.

NCP will take decision today

NCP has called a meeting on Tuesday (16 December) at 4 pm. Sources said that whether to contest the elections as a grand alliance or to consider any other option, this will be discussed in today’s meeting.

Small workers have a lot of expectations from local elections, in such a situation all the parties want to bring maximum seats to their side. The grand alliance of all three parties is currently in the Maharashtra government. At the same time, small parties like RPI are also hoping to get seats in Mahayuti.

BJP is going to start the first round of talks with constituent parties for BMC elections from today. BJP will hold talks with Shiv Sena and RPI Athawale today.

condition of opposition alliance

There is confusion about the stand of Congress due to Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction) and Raj Thackeray joining MNS in the opposition. Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray have come together after 20 years. Both the brothers are faced with the challenge of survival. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has reached MNS President Raj Thackeray’s house today to discuss seat sharing.

The unity of the Thackeray brothers put the Congress in a dilemma. Different voices are being raised within the party. Some believe that one should fight separately from Thackeray. At the same time, some party leaders also believe that fighting with Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS will be beneficial.

Regarding the conversation, Sanjay Raut said, “There may be a formal announcement from the Thackeray brothers this week.” As of now I don’t think Congress is with us. I had spoken to the Congress High Command, who had left the decision to the local unit. Let us tell you that Congress has called a meeting today regarding BMC elections.

The stand of Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP) is awaited. The closeness between uncle and nephew has increased in recent times amidst confusion regarding Ajit Pawar in Mahayuti and Sharad Pawar in MVA. Recently, Prafulla Patel of Ajit Pawar group attended Sharad Pawar’s birthday party. The photo of the meeting sparked a new discussion in political circles.

In the last assembly and Lok Sabha elections, Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP) had contested together. This Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance defeated Mahayuti in the Lok Sabha elections, however, it suffered a crushing defeat in the Assembly elections.

The last election was held on 21 February 2017 and the result was announced on 23 February. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is considered to be the largest municipal corporation in Asia. In the last budget, an expenditure of about Rs 75,000 crore was estimated for the current financial year. In such a situation, the eyes of all parties are fixed on BMC.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aditya Thackeray has made a big claim about Mahayuti MLAs. He said on Monday (08 December) that 22 MLAs of an ally of Mahayuti have come close to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and are ready to change sides. It is being told that he has said this in the context of Shiv Sena led by Deputy CM Eknath Shinde.

Without naming Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Aditya Thackeray claimed, “There is one party and two factions.” 22 MLAs of one group have come close to the CM. They have good funds and now they have started dancing to the tune of the CM.

’22 MLAs of Mahayuti are ready to change sides’

Speaking to the media in the Vidhan Bhawan complex, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA from Worli said, “22 MLAs are ready to switch sides.” One of these MLAs calls himself vice-captain. It is being said that he has said this about Industries Minister Uday Samant. Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) had claimed that Samant could be the third Chief Minister of the state along with Shinde and Ajit Pawar.

Shiv Sena was divided in 2022

Let us tell you that after the rebellion led by Shinde in June 2022, Shiv Sena was divided, after which the Mahavikas Aghadi government led by the then Uddhav Thackeray fell. Later, in January 2024, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar said that the Eknath Shinde-led faction was the real Shiv Sena, a component of the ruling grand alliance in the state along with the BJP and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s NCP.

What did Aditya say about the appointment of the leader of the opposition?

On the issue of inaction in appointing the leader of the opposition in both the houses of the state legislature, Aditya Thackeray asked why the government is afraid of the leader of the opposition. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Bhaskar Jadhav has been nominated by his party, which is the largest opposition party in the Lower House with 20 MLAs, for the post of Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, but no decision has been taken by the Speaker on the Cabinet-level appointment.

Jadhav had written a letter to the state legislature, seeking to know whether there was any rule that mandated that an opposition party should have 10 percent of the total strength in the assembly (29 seats out of 288) to claim the post of Leader of the Opposition. After the opposition’s crushing defeat in the state assembly elections last year, no party could win 10 percent of the total 288 seats.

It is noteworthy that Ambadas Danve, former MLC of Shiv Sena (UBT), who was the leader of opposition in the Legislative Council. His tenure ended in August. Congress has nominated its MLC Satej Patil to be appointed as the leader of opposition in the Upper House. State Legislative Council Chairman Ram Shinde on Sunday said his office has received a proposal to appoint the leader of the opposition and the decision will be taken after talks with stakeholders.

The reaction of former BJP state president and state minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule has come to light on the ongoing rift between the factions of Mahayuti in Maharashtra. Talking to the media in Mumbai on Friday (December 5), Bawankule said that some incidents are happening. At the local level, BJP workers are joining Shiv Sena and Shiv Sena workers are joining BJP. But it is not that Eknath Shinde’s workers are damaging BJP and Ajit Dada’s workers are damaging the BJP government.

There will be some conflict, there are three parties – Bawankule

The BJP leader said, “There will be some clashes at the local level. But it is not that the workers in Maharashtra are fighting. Our workers are not going to cut each other like Mahavikas Aghadi.” He said that there are three parties in the alliance. At the local level, all the corporators want to go to the Zilla Panchayat and Zilla Parishad. Because of this, workers are coming to BJP.

Along with this, he said, “When Shiv Sena was in power, BJP stood with Eknath Shinde with full confidence. We kept the same faith in our workers that our government is going to strengthen Maharashtra by doing good work. Our 1 crore 51 lakh workers are standing with responsibility with Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis.”

Shiv Sena-Ajit Dada workers are firmly with the government- Bawankule

Bawankule further said, “Even in the government of Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra BJP is completely standing with the government. Besides, workers of Shiv Sena and Ajit Dada are also standing strongly with the government.”

On the financial burden on the state, he said, “The latest burden is of Rs 32,000 crore. Farmers suffered losses due to floods. Due to this, a bit of a crisis was created. But the government has dealt with it. No one knew that this was going to happen. It has caused some loss. Due to this, we slowed down a bit. But the way the banks helped, we have recovered from it.”

A new controversy seems to be arising amid Maharashtra civic elections. Allegations have surfaced that a video of Eknath Shinde carrying a bag full of money during his visit to Malvan has gone viral. This video is reportedly related to the recent visits to Malvan and the political atmosphere has become heated regarding it. In the case, Shinde-Shiv Sena and Nilesh Rane have been accused of distributing money to influence voters.

It can allegedly be seen in the video that when Eknath Shinde came to Malvan, his bodyguards were seen running behind him with bags full of money, avoiding the cameras. Former MLA Vaibhav Naik alleges that the same money was later delivered to the voters. Naik says that while in power, public money was collected through corruption and is now being used to get votes during elections.

charge of distribution of money

Vaibhav Naik claimed that the same money from the alleged bags was distributed among the voters of the area by Nilesh Rane yesterday. According to him, Shinde-Shiv Sena adopts the policy of “money to power and power to money” in every election. He said that those accusing the opposition themselves are not completely impartial and in the election environment, money is being used from both sides.

Public appeal and political response

Vaibhav Naik appealed to the people of Malvan to vote thoughtfully to stop such alleged horse-trading and corruption. He said that elections are a democratic process and its dignity should not be diminished due to the influence of money. At present, there has been no official response from any party on the video and allegations and the matter is spreading rapidly in political discussions.

Big cracks are clearly visible in the ruling alliance Mahayuti in Maharashtra, which has now become difficult for BJP and Shiv Sena to hide. The discord between Devendra Fadnavis’ group and Eknath Shinde’s group is intensifying. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde’s MP son Shrikant Shinde has given a big statement.

In fact, recently senior BJP leader Ravindra Chavan had said that he has got the responsibility to save the Mahayuti only till December 2. On this, Shrikant Shinde said, “Ravindra Chavan should tell whether BJP wants to keep the alliance even after December 2 or not.”

While answering media questions during the election campaign, Shrikant Shinde accepted the ongoing rift between BJP and Shiv Sena. When he was asked that the alliance has to be preserved only till December 2, Ravindra Chavan said this. What does it mean? In response, Shrikant Shinde said, “I don’t know what he said. Ask him only whether he wants to keep the alliance in future or not?”

Why did the issue of December 2 arise?

Actually, Municipal Council and Nagar Panchayat elections in Maharashtra are on December 2. In such a situation, speculations are being made that Mahayuti will be able to recover only till December 2. After this, the alliance partners seem to be moving apart.

Demand to make Eknath Shinde the Chief Minister again

Meanwhile, the issue of bringing Eknath Shinde as the chief ministerial face is again being raised in Maharashtra. Dada Bhuse, minister from Shinde faction of Maharashtra, gave a big statement during the civic election campaign. Dada Bhuse hinted at Eknath Shinde becoming the Chief Minister of Maharashtra again in the future.

He said, “Even today, if there is any Chief Minister’s face in the minds of people, it is that of Eknath Shinde. No such CM has been made in the history of the state. No one knows what will happen in the future.”

In Maharashtra, the matter of inclusion of 2020 Palghar lynching case accused Kashinath Choudhary in BJP has gained momentum. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief and former Chief Minister has targeted BJP and Mahayuti government regarding this. Uddhav Thackeray was addressing the function of his party workers. During this, he made a scathing attack on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde.

Uddhav Thackeray asked to apologize to Hindu society for including Kashinath Choudhary in BJP. Raised a question to Thackeray, “How come all his sins have been forgiven today?”

Uddhav Thackeray targets Eknath Shinde

Uddhav Thackeray, while targeting Eknath Shinde without naming him, said that he stayed with us for 25 years, walked with us in the name of Hindutva, we adopted him, made him sit on our shoulders, took him from village to village. When they reached the top, they started kicking us. Uddhav Thackeray further said in a sarcastic tone that Delhi used to move due to the hoofs of Maratha horses. Today the same people are seen licking the shoes of Delhi. They are not from the saffron family, they are traitors.

Furious over inclusion of Kashinath Choudhary in BJP

Uddhav Thackeray expressed strong objection to the inclusion of Kashinath Choudhary, accused of killing sadhus in Palghar in 2020, in BJP. He said that at that time when I was the Chief Minister, Shiv Sena was being called anti-Hindutva. Today the same Kashinath Chaudhary has joined BJP. If he was guilty then why was he taken to the party and if he was innocent then why was he put in jail?

Uddhav Thakar asked BJP and Devendra Fadnavis to apologize to entire Maharashtra and Hindu society in Palghar case. Thackeray taunted that this becomes love jihad for others and immortal love for BJP itself.

Accused of giving tickets to drug mafia

Uddhav Thackeray, while targeting Modi government and Maharashtra government, said that the country is being ruined, anyone is being recruited into the party without investigation. A drug mafia was even given a mayor’s ticket.

Remembered Balasaheb Thackeray’s Shiv Sena

Boosting the morale of Shiv Sainiks, Uddhav Thackeray said that a person grows old not by age but by thinking. You all stood with Balasaheb like his shield. No one had the courage to look up. Today Shiv Sena is alive because of you people.

Recalling the incident of Janata Party era of 1977, he said that Shiv Sainiks had destroyed Morarji Desai’s meeting in Shivaji Park at the gesture of a finger.