Nearly 16,000 Candidates in Fray for Maharashtra Civic Polls on January 15

A total of 15,931 candidates are in the fray for polls to 29 municipal corporations on January 15, the Maharashtra State Election Commission said on Saturday.

As per SEC data, a total of 33,247 nominations were filed, of which 24,771 were found valid after scrutiny. Of those found valid, 8,840 candidates withdrew their nominations till the deadline for the process, which ended at 3pm on Friday.

Elections are being held for 2869 seats spread across 893 wards in these 29 municipal corporations. Except Mumbai, which has 227 seats, the rest are multi-member wards.

In Mumbai, the country's financial capital, 2,516 nominations were filed, of which 2,153 were declared valid. After the withdrawal of 453 candidates, 1,700 are left.

Pune Municipal Corporation recorded the highest number of withdrawals among the 29 civic bodies in the state.

Out of 3,061 nominations filed, 2,134 were found valid, while 968 candidates withdrew. It left 1,166 candidates in the fray across 41 wards, which comprise 165 seats, in Maharashtra's second largest city.

In Nagpur Municipal Corporation, which has 38 wards and 151 seats, 1,442 nominations were received, of which 1,293 were found valid. After 300 candidates withdrew, 993 are in the fray in Vidarbha's largest city, as per SEC.

Nashik recorded 661 withdrawals, Solapur 532, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar 552, Thane 263, and Pimpri-Chinchwad 443, reflecting intense political negotiations and seat-sharing adjustments ahead of polling.

The number of candidates remaining in the fray stands at 859 in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, 735 in Nashik, 656 in Thane and 499 in Navi Mumbai.

According to the SEC, the release of final candidate list marks the completion of the scrutiny and withdrawal process, setting the stage for polling on January 15, and counting of votes the next day.