MUMBAI: Political parties in Maharashtra rushed to finalize their candidates on the final day of nominations for the upcoming biennial Member of Legislative Council (MLC) local body elections. The high-stakes filing process was marked by last-minute surprises, intense internal drama, and a wave of rebellions across coalitions as disappointed ticket aspirants defied official party orders.
Late Sunday night, the BJP announced an 11-candidate list featuring prominent names closely related to rival opposition leaders. In a swift political turn, former Minister of State and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Prajakta Tanpure was named the BJP candidate for the Ahilya Nagar local body seat just 24 hours after switching sides.
Mr. Tanpure is a relative of NCP (SP) state president Jayant Patil, a top confidant of Sharad Pawar. In another striking choice, the BJP nominated Arun Lakhani for the Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli seat. Mr. Lakhani is soon set to become the father-in-law of Revati Sule, who is the daughter of NCP (SP) Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule and granddaughter of Sharad Pawar. The inclusion of these lateral entrants meant several long-time BJP loyalists and committed workers, including senior leader Madhav Bhandari, missed out on nominations.
Meanwhile, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP experienced its own high-voltage drama over its two MLC seats. NCP Lok Sabha MP Parth Pawar heavily influenced the party's decision-making, successfully pushing for the nomination of his friend and business partner, Vikram Kakade. Mr. Kakade, a developer and the son of former BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kakade, was named the NCP candidate for the prestigious Pune local body seat. This decision came at the expense of former NCP MLA Sunil Timgare, a close associate of the late Ajit Pawar, who was bypassed despite being a strong aspirant for the seat.
The controversial ticket distribution triggered widespread rebellion within both the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliances, with denied aspirants filing independent nominations to challenge official candidates.
The Mahayuti coalition faces direct rebellions in at least eight locations. In Raigad, the NCP fielded Aniket Tatkare, the son of NCP MP Sunil Tatkare, but faced an internal challenge from alliance partner Shiv Sena, whose leader Mahendra Dalvi’s daughter, Juhi Dalvi, filed her nomination for the same seat. Similar cross-contests between Mahayuti partners BJP and Shiv Sena broke out in Sambhaji Nagar, Yavatmal, Pune, Amravati, Nashik, Parbhani, Nanded, and Jalgaon. The opposition MVA is grappling with its own set of rebels who filed papers in Nanded, Bhandara-Gondia, Sangli, and Solapur.
With multiple rebel candidates threatening to split alliance votes across the state, political leaders now have a narrow window to pacify disgruntled workers before the deadline for the withdrawal of nominations closes on June 4, 2026.