The early days of the new year's first month brought along with it another stirring controversy. This time, the topic under discussion was the one involving the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation elections. There were winners in the election, 20 candidates from the Mahayuti alliance, but the surprising part was that they won the elections unopposed.
However, was it possible that the winning party won only on the grounds of not having any opposing parties in competition? It was found that every single one of the rival parties, whether independent candidates or major political parties with huge standings, had either been rejected as nominees or withdrawn from the race by the final deadline of New Year's Day.
The number of seats was 122 in total. Out of these seats, the Mahayuti alliance won 16 per cent of the entire corporation. The big mystery of it all? Zero votes were cast.
The statistics are entirely confusing. 20 seats were labelled as vacant when several candidates withdrew their names. 7 from UBT Sena, 5 from MNS, 6 from NCP, including Ajit Pawar, NCP's Sharad Pawar, as well as 2 candidates from Congress, took their names off the candidates' list.
Reports from major new channels such as NDTV Marathi and The Times of India state that it is not only unfavourable parties but prominent candidates with high prospects of winning were either rejected or withdrew themselves. It was a shocking phenomenon since no one could have predicted that people who were close to winning decided to step out before the polling process began.
Harshal More, one of the leading members of the Shiv Sena political party, who is also the son of renowned MLA Rajesh More, won in ward 28A. Some more members of the same party, including Ramesh Mhatre, Vishwanath Rane, and Vrushali Joshi, had a complete sweep in ward 24.5.
BJP's Asavari Navare and Rekha Chaudhary were the first to be declared as winners in the election in the regions of Dombivli and Kalyan, respectively. It is alleged that this BJP victory was indirectly assisted by the withdrawal of MNS Dombivli City President Manoj Gharat.
The opposition has presumably raised its voice against the questionable nature of these wins. According to them, they categorise these election results as scams. It wouldn't be improbable, having leaders who were almost on the brink of winning seats in an election, losing them in a seemingly unfair game.
There had to be concerns that would be raised, fingers to be pointed. Sanjay Raut, the leader of Shiv Sena, proclaimed that candidates were being offered bribes to step down from the elections. The amount of money was huge, around 5 crore rupees and greed was thereby used as a way to guarantee positive election results by the winning party. It was claimed that bags stuffed with wads of cash were used as the ignition of fire to light a winning election poll.
Opposition parties also accused the State Election Committee of being prejudiced in the voting process. Party leaders talked about how the same errors that they were heavily condemned for were ignored in the case of the Mahayuti alliance, therefore exposing the lack of fair play and the methods that facilitated the shocking win. Even ministers at high ranks and local power people forced rival candidates to step down by setting up a pressure trap.
The controversy naturally has shifted to legal grounds. Various opposition groups have filed several petitions against the winning party, claiming many statements. This election didn't merely attempt to make a fool of rival parties but also the people who were to cast votes. Even if there was only one standing party in the elections, the voters should still have had the option of picking NOTA.
The entirety of this election was a big disaster and an unfortunate practice that once again raised concerns about the democracy promised in India. But the real spice at the dinner table was a comment made by a politician.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar made a remark at Bhartiya Janta party, describing the political group as a "corrupt demon", a heavy and straightforward comment in the fight of politics. This political storm that has been blown into a huge hurricane by the Mahayuti alliance has brought about a major scandal on BJP.
A party that was already on the ruling chair of the nation, one that had claimed access to a giant powerhouse, is swimming in another sea of controversy. In the simmering heat of the boil in which this brand new scandal is being cooked, there are major concerns that topple over people's trust in the practice of democracy.
When the elaborate game of politics involves leaders with huge gains of power in the palms of their hands, it is difficult to judge whether people still have the same amount of power in choosing their leaders. In the light of all these power plays and controversies, it all comes down to the people who ask, do we still have a say in what happens in our country?
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