15,827 candidates in fray for 1st phase of local bodies polls

As many as 15,827 candidates are in fray for the 3,706 seats spread over 164 Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats in Maharashtra, where the first phase of polling will be held on November 27.
For the post of Municipal Council president in 147 places, there are 1013 candidates, State Election Commissioner J S Saharia told reporters here today.
He said 147 Municipal Councils and 18 Nagar Panchayats were to vote in the first phase.
However, 27 candidates have been declared elected unopposed.
For Shirala Nagar Panchayat in Sangli district, not a single nomination was received. Hence, voting will be held in 3,706 seats for 164 Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats, the official said.

A total of 24,191 nominations were received. Out of this, 20,716 papers were found valid. As many as 4,889 candidates withdrew.

For the Municipal Council presidents posts, 2374 nominations were received. As many as 1,533 papers were found valid while 520 withdrew.
State Congress chief Ashok Chavan managed to defend the
Congress bastion to some extent in his home district of Nanded, where the party won 72 of the 197 seats. Congress also won six municipal council presidents' post in the district.
BJP did well in Bhandara and Gadchiroli, winning 70 of the total 132 seats in the two districts.

In Umari municipal council in Nanded district, NCP swept all the 17 seats.
State BJP president Raosaheb Danve thanked the people for reposing faith in his party in the third phase as well.
This success was an endorsement of the change at the Centre and in Maharashtra in Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in 2014, and development agenda of BJP governments, he said.
Ashok Chavan expressed satisfaction over phase 3 results, noting that in Nanded district, where Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis addressed five rallies on a single day, people still backed Congress.
BJP's use of money power in the elections was evident from Danve's statement during the campaign (where the BJP leader asked people to "accept goddess Lakshmi coming home on the eve of polls), he said.

Goverment's misuse of official machinery was also proved when Animal Husbandry Minister's Mahadev Jankar was seen (in a video clip) pressurising election officials to reject a Congress candidate's nomination, Chavan alleged.
Last phase of polls is yet to take place.