Maharashtra is all set for Thursday's polls to 29 municipal corporations, with campaigning coming to a close on Tuesday evening.
Of the 29, the results of the polls to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Thane Municipal Corporation, Nagpur Municipal Corporation, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation and Nashik Municipal Corporation are the most keenly awaited.
The BMC is the most prestigious of the five, being Asia’s richest civic body. Victory here will strengthen the position of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis even as Uddhav Thackeray seeks to maintain the Shiv Sena's hold over the corporation, which it has ruled since 1985 barring a four-year period from 1992 to 1996. The BJP has focused its election campaign around the Hindu-Muslim binary and development, while the Thackeray cousins are banking on the consolidation of Marathi and Muslim votes to defeat the BJP.
The Thane Municipal Corporation election is important for deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde as this is his bastion. His son Dr Shrikant Shinde also got elected from Kalyan-Dombivali, which is part of Thane district. Of the 67 corporators from the undivided Shiv Sena elected in the last polls here in 2027, 66 are with the Shinde Sena. Triumphing here will give Shinde a huge boost in his one-upmanship with the rival Sena faction headed by Uddhav.
Similarly, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation election is significant for Fadnavis who started his political career as a corporator here before becoming an MLA and then Chief Minister. The BJP's parent body RSS has its headquarters in Nagpur, which is also the home city of Union minister and BJP veteran Nitin Gadkari. The BJP, which has been ruling the Nagpur civic body, will be expecting to not only retain power but win with a thumping majority.
The Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections are an acid test for deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar who hails from Pune district. The BJP is putting in a concerted effort to retain power in the two neighbouring cities of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, which form an IT and automobile hub. After the BJP declared that it would go it alone in the polls here, DCM Ajit Pawar camped in both places in a bid to select strong candidates, even poaching BJP corporators who were denied tickets. What looked like a cakewalk for the BJP may turn out to be a tough contest against an alliance here comprising the NCP factions of Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar.
Finally, the Nashik Municipal Corporation election is important for BJP minister Girish Mahajan who is a close aide of CM Fadnavis. The Shiv Sena is also trying hard to make inroads here while the Thackerays jointly addressed their first rally in Nashik. The MNS led by Raj Thackeray was once in power here and is hence hopeful of a revival.