Mumbai, Jan 5 (NationPress) In light of the ongoing debate surrounding unopposed elections in municipal corporations, the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) announced on Monday that it might annul the electoral process and initiate new elections in wards where any irregularities are discovered, based on findings submitted by municipal commissioners from respective civic bodies.

SEC sources indicated that due to a rise in formal complaints, the Commission has instructed municipal commissioners to perform independent investigations in each ward where a candidate was elected unopposed. This issue of unopposed victories has ignited a fierce political clash between the ruling alliance and the opposition.

“The inquiry will examine several critical elements to uphold the integrity of the democratic process. It will investigate if opposition candidates faced pressure, threats, or bribery to withdraw their nominations. Additionally, it will evaluate whether returning officers or other election officials engaged in any misconduct or procedural errors to benefit specific candidates,” SEC sources stated.

If any evidence of misconduct is uncovered during the investigation, the results will be promptly nullified, and fresh elections will be called in the affected wards.

The sources also mentioned that even in wards where no immediate irregularities are identified, the formal announcement of 'unopposed' victors will not occur right away. To maintain consistency across all 29 municipal corporations, the SEC has determined that such results will be revealed on June 16, coinciding with the general counting of votes for all other contested positions.

This decision by the SEC comes amidst protests from opposition parties concerning the unopposed victories of over 70 candidates, primarily from the ruling Mahayuti alliance.

The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) accused the ruling Mahayuti of steering Maharashtra towards a moral and democratic decline, asserting that the current municipal elections have devolved into a “farce” characterized by the “mafia-isation” of democratic processes through financial power and intimidation of opposition candidates.

The party claims that the unopposed election of around 70 corporators highlights intense competition within the ruling alliance, especially between the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led faction, to secure uncontested seats, which they deem a distortion of democracy.

In a critical editorial in its publication Saamana, the Thackeray faction argued that the prevailing political climate in Maharashtra reflects increasing authoritarianism and institutional arrogance. They contended that if electoral victories are essentially bought before elections, the very foundation of the Election Commission is compromised.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut expressed criticism over the trend of unopposed victories, particularly concerning Mahayuti candidates, stating that even some of the country’s most prominent leaders have never been elected unopposed.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal accused the BJP-led Mahayuti of reaching a point of “swallowing democracy” in their quest for power. He claimed that the Devendra Fadnavis government is undermining democratic processes through pressure, threats, and financial influence to engineer uncontested victories in municipal elections.