MUMBAI: As many as 59 of the 2,869 posts in the state’s municipal corporations are set to be elected unopposed, according to information available so far, sources in the State Election Commission said. The municipal corporation polls are due on Jan 15. The SEC pointed out that, according to the law, polls will not be held in wards where there is just one candidate in the fray and is heading for an unopposed win. Officials clarified that a poll will not be held with None of the Above (NOTA) as the other option.“The statute clearly lays down that in the case of a single unopposed candidate, no poll is to be held. A poll cannot be held with NOTA as the other option. There is no provision for this…,” said State Election Commissioner Dine-sh Waghmare. He pointed out that this was laid down in the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act and Representation of the People Act. Civil society groups have been demanding that polls be held with NOTA as an option in wards where the election is unopposed to uphold democracy.BJP said 68 Mahayuti candidates are set to be elected unopposed in civic corporations across the state. Of these, 44 are from BJP, and the largest number of wins are from Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation, said BJP spokesperson Keshav Upadhye.The Opposition was scathing about the spate of unopposed elections, alleging that money and threats were used to get their candidates to withdraw. AICC secretary Sachin Sawant said, “The phenomenon of unopposed elections is fundamentally anti-democratic. Such outcomes violate the basic right of citizens to vote…repeated acceptance of uno-pposed elections raises serious concerns and gives the impression that the election commission is functioning under undue pressure rather than acting as an independent constitutional authority.“
