Of these council seats, the BJP, leading the ruling Mahayuti coalition, secured six, while the Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) claimed one. One seat became vacant due to a mid-term resignation from a sitting member, while the others were due to biennial elections for the Upper House of the legislature.
Fourteen nominations were submitted for the elections to ten council seats. Four independents also entered the race but were disqualified for not meeting mandatory requirements, leaving ten candidates for as many available seats.
Monday marked the deadline for withdrawing nomination papers. With no additional candidates in the fray, all ten candidates were elected unopposed.
The ruling BJP candidates elected included Sunil Vinayak Karjatkar, Madhavi Naik, Sanjay Natthuji Bhende, Vivek Bipindada Kolhe, and Pramod Shantaram Jathar. The party also put forward former Congress MLC Pradnya Rajeev Satav for a separate by-election.
Satav’s term was initially set to expire on July 27, 2030, but she opted to switch her allegiance to the BJP. Her departure from the Congress as an MLC triggered the bypoll.
The Opposition MVA nominated Shiv Sena (UBT) member Danve, a past Leader of Opposition in the council.
Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena re-nominated Gorhe, the current deputy chairperson, as well as former MLA Bacchu Kadu, who joined the party recently. Gorhe is contesting her fifth legislative council election.
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Another ally of the ruling coalition, the Nationalist Congress Party led by Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, nominated Zeeshan Siddique, a former MLA from Vandre (East) in Mumbai.
The six-year terms of nine council members, including former chief minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, will conclude on May 13.
