Mumbai, Jan 2 (IANS) Political tension in Mumbai has reached its peak as Friday marks the deadline for candidates to withdraw their nomination papers for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.

Till 3.00 p.m., candidates can pull out of the race.

Major political fronts, including the Thackeray-MNS alliance and the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition, are working frantically to pacify “rebel” members who have filed independent nominations after being denied official party tickets.

Party leadership is making last-minute efforts to resolve internal discontent to avoid a split in the vote bank that could prove fatal in a closely contested election.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has already swung into action to pacify rebels, and so has Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to quell the rebellion.

Similarly, the Thackeray brothers have separately launched communication with rebels, asking them to withdraw their nominations.

The alliance between Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is facing significant internal heat.

Several loyalists have filed independent papers against official alliance candidates in at least nine wards.

In ward no 95, Shiv Sena(UBT) candidate is Hari Shashtri (party rebel Chandrashekhar Wingankar), ward no 106 MNS nominee Satyavan Dalvi (Shiv Sena rebel Sagar Devore), ward no 114 Shiv Sena (UBT) nominee Rajol Patil (MNS rebel Anisha Majgaonkar), ward no 169 Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Pravina Morajkar (party rebel Kamalakar Naik) and ward no 193 Shiv Sena(UBT) candidate Hemangi Woralikar (party rebel Suryakant Koli).

In ward no 196 Shiv Sena-UBT nominee Padmaja Chemburkar (party rebel Sangita Jagtap), ward no 202 Shiv Sena UBT nominee Shraddha Jadhav (party rebel Vijay Indulkar), ward no 203 Shiv Sena(UBT) nominee Bharati Pednekar (party rebel Divya Badve and ward no 197 MNS nominee Rachana Salvi (Shiv Sena (UBT) rebel Sharvani Desai).

Similarly, the BJP is also dealing with a wave of “friendly fight” in several key wards, where established workers have revolted against the party’s choice of nominees.

In ward number 177, BJP nominee Kalpana Kothari’s nomination is challenged by the party rebel Nehal Shah, ward number 205 (BJP nominee Varsha Shinde) (rebel Janhvi Rane), ward number 155 (BJP nominee Varsha Shetye) (rebels Jayshree Kharat, Harsha Salve, and Sashikala Kamble), ward number 225 (BJP nominee Harshita Narvekar) faces challenges from rebels Kamalakar Dalvi and Sujata Sanap, in ward number 226, BJP nominee Makarand Narvekar is being opposed by rebel Anil Patil, ward number 7, BJP nominee Ganesh Khankar (Shiv Sena rebel Bhupendra Kashinath, ward number 8, BJP nominee Yogita Patil (rebel Amruta Koli) and ward number 25, BJP nominee Nisha Parulekar (rebel Shekhar Shere).

Further, in ward number 182, BJP nominee Rajan Parkar (rebel Shraddha Patil), ward number 54, BJP nominee Vilas Avasare (rebel Gajendra Dhumal), ward number 200, BJP nominee Sandeep Pansande (rebel Gajendra Dhumale), ward number 60, BJP nominee Sayali Kulkarni (rebel Divya Dhole) and ward number 64, BJP nominee Sarita Rajapure (rebel Maya Rajput).

In ward number 173, Shiv Sena candidate Puja Kamble faces a challenge from rebel Vaishali Pagare.

As the 3.00 p.m. clock ticks down, the final landscape of the 2026 BMC elections will become clear, revealing whether party loyalty or individual rebellion will dominate the ballot box on January 15.

–IANS

sj/svn