Sena (UBT) alleges money power behind Mahayuti’s local body poll sweep

The Shiv Sena UBT on Monday alleged that the BJPled Mahayuti won the elections to the nagar parishad and nagar panchayat in Maharashtra due to money and muscle power reported news agency IANSThe party in its mouthpiece Saamana said that if these victories are to be bought with money then the pride and honour of Maharashtra have been dragged through the dust Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharajrsquos Maharashtra appears to be crawling helpless before the money This picture is dangerous for the country reported IANSThe Saamana editorial sharply criticised the State Election Commission SEC for its perceived inaction describing the body as being in a state of slumber while instances of kidnapping terror and open money distribution took place across the stateThe editorial claimed that the BJP has started a sole business of winning every election through dishonesty After the British the BJP and its allies have looted the country the most Elections are fought and won using that very looted money Furthermore a significant amount of drug money was also used in the election This raises questions about what our democracy is doing and how the Voter King actually votes reported IANSAccording to the latest figures from the State Election Commission SEC the BJP has emerged as the single largest party winning over 100 municipal president posts The Shindeled Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawarrsquos NCP have each secured more than 40 seats In contrast the combined opposition including the Congress Sharad Pawarrsquos NCPSP and Shiv SenaUBT managed to secure roughly 60 seats This result mirrors the pattern seen in the recent Assembly elections where the Mahayuti secured a similar landslide victory said the editorialGame of money powerThe Thackeray camp has characterised the Maharashtra local body elections as a game of money power alleging that in several municipal areas the market rate for a single vote ranged from Rs 4000 to Rs 10000 In more competitive zones it is claimed that the BJP pushed the rate as high as Rs 20000 to Rs 25000 per vote leading to internal friction within the ruling allianceA specific incident was reported in Sindhudurg where a public spat broke out between Shindefaction MLA Nilesh Rane and BJP State President Ravindra Chavan over the distribution of fundsReports of coercion and electoral malpractice and voter intimidation in particular have surfaced from multiple districts In Dharmabad Nanded allegations emerged that BJP officebearers detained nearly 1500 voters including women in a marriage hall to force them to accept bribes ranging from Rs 2000 to Rs 4000 Those who refused were reportedly threatened In Ambernath police investigations were launched into allegations of bogus voting involving over 200 women brought in from neighbouring areas In Panvel discrepancies in voter lists were flagged including one instance where 268 voters were allegedly listed with the same fathers namerdquo said the editorial reported IANSThe Thackeray camp has cited the local body elections held in the neighbouring state of Telangana where the State Election Commission did not use EVMs but conducted on a ballot paper resulting in a crushing defeat for the BJPldquoIn Telanganarsquos local bodies the Congress made a strong surge and secured a major victory Similarly in Punjabrsquos local body elections AAP surged ahead leaving both the BJP and Congress behind In both these states despite the BJP playing a heavy game of money the voters were not boughtrdquo it said reported IANSThe editorial observed that the way the elections are conducted and fought in Maharashtra raises a serious question of the integrity of the democratic processAs the state moves toward the next major electoral battle the BMC elections in January 2026 the questions regarding electoral transparency and the influence of wealth in Maharashtras politics will continue to intensifyWith inputs from IANS