The much-touted Mahayuti alliance has disintegrated across the Marathwada region of Maharashtra just ahead of crucial civic body elections. This breakdown has triggered a frenzied last-minute rush of candidates filing their nomination papers, dramatically increasing the number of contestants across all five municipal corporations in the zone.
Seat-Sharing Talks Fail After Multiple Rounds
Despite holding over ten rounds of negotiations in the past week, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) could not arrive at a consensus on seat-sharing. The failure impacted alliances in the municipal corporations of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Latur, Parbhani, and Nanded.
Accusations flew immediately after the collapse. Social Justice Minister and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat pointed fingers at the arrogance of local leaders, alleging that BJP members deliberately sabotaged the alliance. BJP representatives countered this charge, labeling the demands from the Shiv Sena camp as unreasonable. BJP minister Atul Save went further, claiming that Shirsat had pressed for election tickets for his own family members.
Nomination Day Chaos and Political Scramble
As soon as the split became official on Tuesday morning, aspiring candidates from both the BJP and Shiv Sena rushed to file their nominations. Election offices across nine city zones witnessed heavy crowds and long queues. The scramble was so intense that many candidates enlisted the help of lawyers to ensure their forms were verified and security deposits submitted without technical errors.
Several hopefuls arrived in SUVs accompanied by large groups of supporters, highlighting the high-stakes nature of the contest. The discontent was brewing even before the formal announcement. On Monday night, Shiv Sena's district chief Rajendra Janjal voiced strong dissatisfaction, alleging injustice to party workers. He warned that compromising on a handful of seats would deny justice to grassroots workers and declared he would not contest under such circumstances.
Regional Fallout and Coalition Dynamics
The fallout varied across the region's cities. In Jalna, Mahayuti constituents filed nominations independently. BJP member Kailas Gorantyal confirmed the alliance collapsed over seat-sharing disputes, noting that the BJP is now contesting all 65 seats, as is the Shiv Sena.
In contrast, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) managed to retain its coalition comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP). However, in Nanded-Waghala, Congress broke away from its MVA partners after prolonged talks and instead allied with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA). Congress will contest 61 seats there, while VBA has 20.
The Mahayuti talks also failed in Nanded, where the BJP faced internal turmoil until the last moment. Several loyalists, including former corporators, two ex-city chiefs, and relatives of senior leaders, were denied tickets, causing resentment.
In Latur, MLA Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar blamed factions within the Congress and NCP for derailing Mahayuti negotiations. Although a BJP-NCP tie-up seemed possible, local office-bearers ultimately scuttled the talks. A similar deadlock prevailed in Parbhani, where BJP-Shiv Sena seat-sharing discussions also collapsed, setting the stage for a highly competitive and fragmented election across Marathwada.
