Dhule (Maharashtra)

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday took a dig at the Opposition parties for targeting the ruling Mahayuti over its unopposed victories at 68 places in the upcoming civic polls in the state, asking what could he do if they felt the sting.

"Tumko mirchi lagi toh main kya karoon (what can I do if you feel the sting and get offended)?" the CM targeted the opponents while addressing a rally in Dhule of north Maharashtra for the January 15 polls to 29 municipal corporations in the state.

The CM thanked voters for electing four BJP corporators unopposed in Dhule. "We accept the support wholeheartedly," he said.

"As many as 35 Lok Sabha MPs have been elected unopposed so far, of whom 33 were elected during the Congress rule," he said.

Questioning the Opposition over its criticism on the issue, Fadnavis said, "If there is unopposed election in your tenure, democracy is not threatened and if it happens in our time, democracy is under threat."

Describing Dhule as the gateway to Maharashtra, Fadnavis said the city has Gujarat on one side and Madhya Pradesh on the other.

"Dhule did not see development earlier till the BJP came to power after the corporation was formed in 2003," the chief minister added.

The issue of unopposed victories of Mahayuti nominees ahead of civic polls landed in the Bombay High Court on Monday, with a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader urging a stay on the declaration of results in 68 seats and a court-monitored inquiry into "mass withdrawals" forced by coercion.

READ MORE: IUML's Fatima Muzaffar Ahmed is the epitome of Muslim woman leadership

A day prior to that, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray urged the State Election Commission to cancel results in these 68 civic wards, saying uncontested victories effectively rob 'Gen Z' and first-time voters of their voting right.

State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal has also hit out at the ruling combine, saying the BJP-led Mahayuti's greed for power has reached the point of "swallowing democracy".