Pune: A total of 15,931 candidates are finally on the state municipal corporation poll pitch, after scrutiny and withdrawal of nominations.These candidates will contest for 2,869 seats of corporators across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. The elections are slated for Jan 15.A total of 33,427 nomination papers were filed initially. Of these, 24,771 were declared valid. As many as 8,840 candidates withdrew nominations.“Data was sought from all municipal corporations. Thereafter, the final tally was put together,” said a senior official of the State Election Commission (SEC).“The scrutiny and withdrawal process ensures that only eligible candidates remain in the fray. It also allows political parties and Independents to finalise strategies ahead of the elections,” he said.In the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), as many as 2,516 nominations were filed for 227 seats. Among these, a total of 2,153 were valid. Following 453 withdrawals, 1,700 candidates remain in the fray.Pune recorded 3,061 nominations for 165 seats. Of these, as many as 2,134 were valid. After 968 withdrawals, 1,166 candidates remain in the poll ring.There will be a fierce competition to win Pimpri Chinch Municipal Corporation (PCMC) polls, too. As many as 1,993 nominations were filed there. Finally, 692 candidates are in the fray for 128 seats.Other key municipal corporations include Nashik. As many as 2,356 nominations were filed there. Finally, 735 candidates will contest the elections after withdrawals.Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has 859 candidates for 115 corporators’ seats. In Kolhapur, as many as 327 candidates are in the fray for 81 seats.There are 993 candidates in the poll ring for 151 seats in Nagpur. In Thane, a total of 656 candidates are in the race for 131 seats.Kalyan-Dombivli with 489 contenders, Ulhasnagar with 432 and Mira-Bhayandar with 435 candidates will also witness a keen contest. There will be multi-cornered contests in smaller corporations such as Ichalkaranji (230), Panvel (255) and Malegaon (301) also.With the candidates’ list final, the campaigning for the January 15 polls is expected to intensify across the state. Local issues such as roads, water supply, sanitation and urban infrastructure were likely to draw voters’ attention, particularly in cities like Pune, Nashik, Nagpur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, said political experts.
