Only 19 independents win civic polls without political support across Maharashtra in 2026

OKolhapur: The number of independent candidates winning municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra has been going down over the years as more political parties and alliances come into existence, providing opportunities for party workers to contest the polls.In the municipal corporation elections held across the state between Feb 2009 and Dec 2013, 178 independents became corporators. In the Feb 2015 to Dec 2018 period, 89 independent candidates won the elections to become corporators. However, in the Jan 2026 elections to the 29 municipal corporations with a total of 2,869 corporator seats, only 19 independent candidates won without any political alignment. Among the 29 municipal corporations, Parbhani got four independent corporators, followed by Chandrapur, where two independent candidates became corporators. Thane, Navi-Mumbai, Ulhasnagar, Mira-Bhayandar, Panvel, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nanded Waghala, Akola and Jalna had one independent corporator each in the newly elected body.Political analyst and lawyer Anil Ghatge said the trend showed that winning elections as an independent is no longer easy. "The declining count of independent corporators highlights the downfall of democracy. Henceforth, political parties will ensure that no common man tries to contest the elections as an independent. All political parties are responsible for this. The massive amount of money required to distribute among voters to cast their vote is what a common man can't afford."Ghatge said party workers and common citizens should continue to contest elections to keep democracy alive. "NOTA receiving a large number of votes signifies that a huge share of voters aren't happy with any of the political candidates in the fray," he added.Despite the trend, some independent candidates fought contests against established names. In Kolhapur at Ward 7D, Vijay Salokhe, also known as ‘Sardar', contested as an independent candidate in the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation elections against Shiv Sena candidate Ruturaj Kshirsagar, the son of state planning commission head MLA Rajesh Kshirsagar. Salokhe ran his campaign mainly through social media, and the contest was termed ‘Jan Shakti versus Dhan Shakti' during the campaign.Salokhe received 6,418 votes as an independent, while Ruturaj Kshirsagar received 9,231 votes. The margin of defeat was 2,813 votes. Salokhe said, "A common citizen received 6,418 votes, and I am thankful to all the voters. Even though I couldn't win, I will continue to serve people as a common man. I will continue to put forward the civic issues of society and make efforts to solve them."In the Nashik Municipal Corporation election, Mukesh Shahane, a former BJP corporator, was expelled from the party due to a controversy over the distribution of A-B forms. Shahane contested as an independent from Ward 29A, reserved for the OBC category, and received 14,284 votes to defeat Deepak Badgujar, who received 6,595 votes. Deepak Badgujar is a senior BJP politician and the son of Sudhakar Badgujar, who won from Ward 25.Shahane said, "Voters were not happy with the injustice done to me. They showed how an independent can become victorious. Contesting as an independent and going against the party in power was not an easy task. Various measures were adopted by the opposition to defame me, but they went in vain."