One-Sided Battle? Mahayuti Dominates Campaign Trail Amid MVA's Conspicuous Absence
Mahayuti leads aggressive statewide campaign while MVA top leaders remain absent, leaving workers struggling before polls.
As Maharashtra braces for Municipal Council Elections in over 200 urban local bodies on December 2—with counting scheduled for December 3—the ruling Mahayuti alliance has mounted a high-octane campaign led by its top triumvirate, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) remains conspicuously absent from the ground, leaving local candidates to fend for themselves. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar have personally spearheaded the drive, addressing multiple rallies daily and holding closed-door strategy sessions across small towns from Malegaon to Solapur and Pune district.
Fadnavis has been the most visible, conducting two to three public meetings each day while micro-managing candidate selection and booth-level mobilization. Pawar has criss-crossed every municipal council in his stronghold of Pune district, and Shinde has blanketed key centers in Marathwada and western Maharashtra. The aggressive top-down approach has energized second-rung Mahayuti leaders and workers, creating a visible contrast with the opposition’s near-silent campaign.
MVA heavyweights—Uddhav Thackeray, Raj Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, and senior Congress leaders such as Balasaheb Thorat, Prithviraj Chavan, and Vijay Wadettiwar—have stayed away from the campaign trail, even in traditional strongholds like western Maharashtra. Local units report zero high-command support, financial or otherwise, prompting withdrawals in several councils; in Renapur alone, 11 Shiv Sena (UBT) candidates pulled out, citing lack of backing. One Sena (UBT) office-bearer admitted anonymously that the leadership “focuses only on Mumbai” and rarely ventures beyond during any election.
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Mahayuti leaders have seized on the vacuum. Fadnavis mocked the opposition, saying, “In democracy you cannot sit at home and do politics. If someone thinks people will vote for them anyway, they are under a wrong impression.” BJP spokesperson Keshav Upadhye posted on X, asking pointedly where Uddhav, Raj Thackeray, and Sharad Pawar were, and highlighted the string of candidate withdrawals as proof of MVA’s organizational collapse.
While some MVA leaders claim campaigning will pick up in the final days—Supriya Sule has made selective visits, and Uddhav Thackeray is reportedly planning last-minute rallies in Vidarbha and Marathwada—the damage appears done. Local Congress and NCP (SP) functionaries complain privately of being left to manage everything on their own after 15 years out of power, with workers footing campaign expenses themselves.
With just days remaining, the stark asymmetry in energy and leadership involvement has turned the municipal polls into a litmus test of post-assembly election organizational strength. Mahayuti senses an opportunity to consolidate its dominance in urban local bodies, while the MVA risks a rout that could further erode morale and deepen internal blame games ahead of future battles.
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