Mumbai: While several rebels withdrew their independent nominations at the last moment following intervention by party leaders, some continued to contest against their own party’s official candidates.
Of the 2,185 candidates who had filed nomination papers for the 2026 BMC elections, 453 withdrew on the final day, Friday, leaving 1,729 candidates still in the fray.
A total of 2,516 nominations were submitted for 227 seats in the BMC elections, including candidates from all major parties and independents. Of these, 164 nominations were found invalid and rejected on technical grounds. The final number of candidates stands at 2,185, as some filed nominations for multiple wards. Mumbai’s political drama reached a fever pitch on Friday as the deadline to withdraw nomination papers for the BMC elections approached. Major alliances, including the Thackeray-MNS combine and the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition, worked overtime to rein in “rebel” candidates who had filed independent nominations after being denied official party tickets, intensifying the pre-poll tension.
By the end of the day, both the BJP and Shiv Sena (UBT) managed to convince several rebel candidates to withdraw their nominations, securing their official nominees. However, some rebels remain in the fray, heightening tensions within their parties. In Ward 95, former corporator Chandrashekhar Waingankar has filed an independent nomination against Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance candidate Hari Shastri, with the party unable to persuade him to step aside. Similarly, in Ward 159, UBT candidate Pravina Morajkar will face a rebel challenge from Kamalakar Naik.
The rebellion wave continues to shape the BMC elections in several wards. In Ward 202, Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate and former mayor Shraddha Jadhav will go up against rebel Vijay Indulkar, who has refused to withdraw. Ward 196 sees Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Padmaja Chemburkar contesting against Sangita Jagtap. In Ward 193, Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Hemangi Worlikar is up against rebel Suryakant Koli and in Ward 177, a former BJP corporator Nehal Shah has filed an independent nomination against Mahayuti candidate Kalpesha Kothari.
Some of the rebellion who withdrew on the last day are : In Ward 225, BJP candidate Harshita Narvekar, sister of Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar, faced a challenge from BJP Mumbai Vice-President Kamalakar Dalvi. The party successfully convinced Dalvi to withdraw on the final day; he had filed independently after being denied a ticket. The ward will now see a direct contest between BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) candidate and former corporator Sujata Sanap. Similarly, in Ward 1, former BJP corporator Sunita Yadav had filed an independent nomination against Mahayuti candidate Rekha Yadav, she has now withdrawn her nomination. In Mulund Ward 106, Shiv Sena UBT-MNS candidate Satyavan Dalvi and BJP candidate Prabhakar Shinde remain in the fray. Rebel candidate Sagar Devre had filed independently but was persuaded to withdraw.
In Ward 173, BJP rebel Vaishali Pagare withdrew her nomination. So Shiv Sena Shinde faction candidate Pooja Ramdas Kamble is now the main contender. Other notable withdrawals include former corporator Janak Sanghvi from Ward 221, who had initially filed against BJP candidate Akash Purohit, and Ramakant Gupta from Ward 185, who had opposed BJP candidate Ravi Raja. Both nominations were later retracted, easing tensions within the party.
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