Civic polls: HC junks MNS leader’s petition on ‘coercive mass withdrawals’ of nominations

Noting that the polling is scheduled on Thursday, a division bench of chief justice Shree Chandrashekhar and justice Gautam Ankhad held that it cannot interfere with the election process once it has started

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Avinash Jadhav challenging the “suspicious coercive withdrawals” of candidates from at least 68 wards in various poll-bound municipal corporations across Maharashtra, leading to the unopposed victory of nominees from the ruling Mahayuti coalition.

iMumbai, India - January 14, 2026: Polling personnel set up Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) under tight security at Mahim Victoria Church School in Mumbai ahead of polling in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, January 14, 2025. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Noting that the polling is scheduled on Thursday, a division bench of chief justice Shree Chandrashekhar and justice Gautam Ankhad held that it cannot interfere with the election process once it has started and directed the petitioner to come after the elections, if required.

The matter was mentioned before the court on Wednesday morning, when advocate Asim Sarode, appearing for Jadhav, stated that the withdrawal of rival candidates was “not voluntary”, but a result of “systemic coercion, threats, or illegal allurements”, violating the free and fair constitutional mandate.

On January 5, Jadhav also approached the State Election Commission (SEC), demanding a thorough probe into the matter. On January 4, the MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT) had submitted a written complaint to the police against a police officer and three Shiv Sena (UBT) candidates who withdrew from the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) polls, handing unopposed wins to Mahayuti candidates.

In the petition before the high court, Jadhav said that unopposed victories were reported from the Kalyan-Dombivli, Thane, Jalgaon, Panvel, Dhule, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune municipal corporations. Of the 68 wards where candidates withdrew from the fray suspiciously, the BJP had won 44 seats, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena had won 22 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, two seats, the petition noted, referring to official data.

The petition alleged that the candidates in question were declared winners by the returning officers (ROs) of the respective municipal corporation wards in violation of orders issued by the SEC on January 2, which mandated that results of unopposed elections must not be officially declared until an inquiry into “coercive withdrawals” was completed.

After the unopposed victories were reported, senior leaders from the BJP and Shiv Sena were seen congratulating the winning candidates, the petition said. The MNS leader alleged that the local administration was used to facilitate uncontested wins of ruling alliance candidates, and urged the court to direct the SEC to conduct a time-bound, independent probe into the “mass withdrawals” under its supervision.

The SEC has already ordered an investigation into the withdrawals of candidates from 29 municipal corporations where polls are scheduled on January 15, the petition said. Jadhav also requested the court to issue appropriate directions to the Maharashtra government to formulate legislation and amend the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act, 1949, to include a provision regarding the minimum vote share for candidates elected unopposed.