60% voter turnout in local body polls, amid bitter fights in Mahayuti

Violent clashes ensued in the districts, state election commissioner asks cops and district collectors to act against those disturbing law and order

MUMBAI: Amid battles in courts over election deadlines and clashes between leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena – alliance partners in the ruling Mahayuti -- 264 municipal councils and nagar panchayats registered over 48% voting till 3.30pm, which was expected to cross over 60% by 5:30 pm, on Tuesday (the final figures will be shared on Wednesday). The total number of voters is 1.07 crore.

Thane, India - December -02, 2025: KulgaonÐBadlapur Municipal Council (nager Parishad)General Election 2025: In Badlapur, Thane district, voting for the KulgaonÐBadlapur Municipal Council (nager Parishad) has begun on Tuesday Womens voters after cast voting can be seen standing in queues at the polling stations at badalapur East ,in Thane ,in Mumbai, India, on, Tuesday, December -02, 2025. ( Praful Gangurde / HT Photo) (Praful Gangurde)

Sindhudurg’s volatile landscape was displayed last week when Sena MLA Nilesh Rane alleged a worker from his brother BJP MLA Nitesh’s party had stashed cash at his residence in Kankavali, purportedly to buyout voters.

On the day of the polls, Nilesh reached the Malvan police station at 1.30 am after police seized ₹1.50 lakh in a car. Nilesh insisted that action be taken against BJP workers, claiming that a BJP leader from Devgad had supplied the money, and that a complaint be registered against the “person who had driven in the number plate-less car”.

“This person has been behind the cash distribution in the district for the last four days, but there is no action by the police and election machinery,” Nilesh said on Tuesday.

Reacting to fracas in Sindhudurg, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “This was uncalled for, but police and SEC will act on the matter. The differences between the two partners have been stretched beyond limits.”

A day of confrontations

On the other hand, the discord between BJP and Shiv Sena in Ambernath and Badlapur gave way to fights between workers of the two parties during voting on Tuesday. BJP candidate in the Badlapur Municipal Council Ramesh Solase’s 16-year-old son was allegedly beaten up by Shiv Sena leaders which led to violent clashes, calling for local police’s intervention to disperse the crowds, following which a case was registered against the supporters from both parties.

In Dahanu, Palghar, a clash ensued between Shiv Sena candidate running for president of the municipal council and BJP workers over a trivial issue. Party workers from the Congress and NCP-SP tussled in Chiplun following a dispute over putting up the party booth, leading the police to beef up security to quell the tension in the Govalkot area.

In Mahad, Raigad district, violent clashes broke out between supporters of Shiv Sena leader and minister Bharat Gogawale and NCP leaders Arun Jagtap and Sushant Jabare. Gogawale’s son Vikas allegedly attacked Jabare and his supporters alleging that the latter had used his revolver to threaten Sena workers. Fuel was added to the fire when state NCP chief Sunil Tatkare alleged that Vikas had illegally entered polling stations leading to the clash. “The police and election machinery should take appropriate action,” Tatkare said.

Sena leader and industries minister Uday Samant was quick to retort: “We have been trying to broker truce between leaders from Sena and NCP, but Tatkare’s party has been instigating the clashes at the local level.”

Similar scenarios were witnessed between ruling parties elsewhere in the state as well – in Yeola, NCP and Shiv Sena leaders had a face-off, while in Manmad, a verbal spat broke out between BJP and Shiv Sena leaders. A group of people caught a supporter of Sena candidate with an envelope full of cash, allegedly meant to be distributed among the voters. Police filed an FIR against the Sena supporter caught with the cash.

Dinesh Waghmare, state election commissioner, said, “District collectors, police commissioners and superintendent of police have been empowered to take action for disturbing law and order, wherever clashes have been observed. In many parts, such as Yeola and Mahad, criminal cases have been registered. There are no re-polls demanded by the returning officers because of the violence.”

In Hingoli, Shiv Sena MLA Santosh Bangar stirred the pot on the day of polling by guiding a woman voter who to vote for, evident in a video shared on social media subsequently. He further breached the election code of conduct by sloganeering for late Bal Thackeray and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde inside the polling booth. The Election Commission has registered a case against him.

Criticising Bangar, Fadnavis said, “Any elected representative is expected to respect democracy by following the election code of conduct.”

Bogus voting

Cases of bogus voting were registered in parts of the state. A voter Ananya Parab, who resides in the USA, complained of bogus voting in her name. A mentally unstable voter at a booth in Chandrapur damaged a ballot unit which was replaced by the poll officers. Shiv Sena MLA from Buldhana Sanjay Gaikwad’s son Kunal was accused of helping a bogus voter flee, while Barshi (in Solapur district) MLA Dilip Sopal lodged a complaint of bogus voting by a person using fake ID. In Shirdi a woman voter found that somebody else had voted against her name leading to a heated argument between Sena MP Bhausaheb Wakchaure and election officials.

BJP is claiming that it will emerge as the top performer in the local body polls by winning the highest number of seats, with Maharashtra BJP chief Ravindra Chavan saying his party will win over 51% seats.