The BJP is in alliance with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in city A, while the two parties are rivals in neighbouring city B, where Ajit Pawar’s NCP has joined hands with rival Sharad Pawar’s faction to challenge the BJP. Such is the political picture in Maharashtra ahead of elections to 29 municipal corporations to be held on January 15.

This is the second round of polls after smaller municipal councils elected their local representatives about two weeks ago. The current round will be followed by elections to zila parishads. Rightly dubbed “mini assembly elections”, the urban body polls have revealed the ugly, unsavoury and unscrupulous aspects of Indian politics today. The absence of local elected bodies for the last six-seven years has also made the ongoing elections particularly appealing. The process has all the hallmarks of a third-grade Bollywood thriller. While elections are never simple due to the number of aspirants, what’s happening in Maharashtra is simply unprecedented.

It’s a free-for-all, literally. Except for the Congress, which has little stake in any of the battles, and the BJP, which aims to secure every election it participates in, every other party has partnered with every other party. It’s political promiscuity at its best. Or, rather, at its worst. Maharashtra’s three-party alliance government — comprising the BJP, Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP — hasn’t prevented any of its constituents from seeking partners outside the........

© Indian Express