Amid rising chatter over 'friendly fights' within the ruling alliance in Maharashtra, deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde on Monday openly acknowledged a strain with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, even as both leaders insisted that Maharashtra local body elections must remain centred on grassroots issues and the work of party workers.
Shinde admitted to a recent exchange of allegations between the two top leaders but dismissed the tensions as by-products of highly localised contests.
“Yes, it's true that I made allegations against the CM, and he also made allegations against me,” Shinde told reporters on Monday. “But you need to understand that these elections are local elections, which are fought on very local issues and by local party workers. Big political issues do not need to be brought up. Workers like to see their senior leadership join them in election campaigns.”
The Shiv Sena chief added that depending on local dynamics, BJP and Sena workers sometimes fight together and sometimes separately, but such friction should not be mistaken for a breakdown in the alliance. He reiterated that Sena leaders had avoided “below-the-belt remarks” and stressed adherence to the dharma of coalition.
"If we adhere to the alliance dharma, our only expectation is that the other partners also adhere to it. That is it," Shinde said
Fadnavis distances himself from the row
{{/usCountry}}"If we adhere to the alliance dharma, our only expectation is that the other partners also adhere to it. That is it," Shinde said
Fadnavis distances himself from the row
{{/usCountry}}Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis downplayed the 'friendly fights', stressing that he had not commented against any party - opponents or allies - throughout the campaign. He claimed that he was only supporting the candidates of his party.
“These are local body elections where our workers contest and work the hardest,” Fadnavis said. “It is our responsibility to come and support them. I have not made comments against anyone, not even opponents. I only campaign in support of our candidates.”
Fadnavis reiterated that local issues, development priorities, and worker-driven campaigning should dominate the narrative - not political sparring among senior leaders.
Election commission postpones elections
Even as political tensions played out, the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) on Monday postponed elections for several municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Pune district after district courts delivered key verdicts later than the deadlines mandated by the Commission.
According to Pune district officials, appeals related to membership disqualification and reservation disputes were supposed to be resolved by November 22, failing which local polls could not proceed.
However, rulings on crucial appeals - including those concerning the President’s posts in Baramati Municipal Council and Fursungi-Uruli Devachi Municipal Council - were delivered only on November 26, four days past the cutoff. Orders tied to member seats in both councils were also issued after the deadline.
Citing these delays, the SEC has postponed the entire general elections, both president and member seats, for these councils.
Voting will now be held on December 20.
State votes Tuesday for 242 municipal councils, 46 nagar panchayats
Maharashtra will vote on Tuesday in one of its most significant grassroots polls in recent years, covering 242 municipal councils and 46 nagar panchayats. This marks the first phase of a three-tier election cycle mandated by the Supreme Court to conclude all pending local body polls by January 31, 2026.
The polls will decide 6,859 members and 288 council presidents, with over 1.07 crore voters eligible to cast ballots at 13,355 polling stations. More than 66,000 officials have been deployed, and EVMs will be used throughout.
The December 2 polls are widely seen as the first major indicator of political sentiment since the BJP-led Mahayuti’s sweeping victory in the November 2024 assembly elections, where it secured 235 of 288 seats.
The BJP has already notched early gains, winning 100 councillor seats and three municipal president posts unopposed, though it has faced criticism in Loha Nagar Parishad (Nanded) over fielding multiple candidates from one family.
Political observers say the results will test whether the Mahayuti’s statewide momentum carries over to local governance - or whether the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (Shiv Sena UBT, NCP SP, Congress) can reclaim ground at the municipal level.
Counting of votes will take place on December 3.