Mumbai, Dec 31: In an unprecedented political development, the traditional battle lines of Maharashtra politics have dissolved into chaos ahead of the upcoming elections for 29 Municipal Corporations. The state’s major political fronts — the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — have failed to maintain a uniform seat-sharing formula, leading to a confusing scenario where allies in one city are bitter rivals in another.

As of Tuesday, which was the last day for filing nominations, the political landscape is so fragmented that leaders may find themselves attacking a party in an afternoon rally in one city, only to praise the same party in another city by the evening.

Until Monday, it was expected that the BJP and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena would contest most seats together. However, by Tuesday, several cracks appeared in the Mahayuti alliance. Similarly, the Congress has formed different local tie-ups across various cities, further complicating the MVA’s national image of unity.

In a surprise move, the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) — led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar — who are rivals at the state level, have joined hands for the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal elections. Conversely, Ajit Pawar’s NCP, which is contesting solo in Nagpur, has formed an alliance with the BJP in Akola.

The ruling Mahayuti alliance has failed to reach an agreement in 24 out of 29 municipal corporations. In these cities, the constituent parties (BJP, Shinde’s Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP) will contest against one another. The impacted cities include Jalna, Parbhani, Latur, Amravati, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Solapur, Akola, Malegaon, Nanded, Nagpur, Sangli, Nashik, Dhule, Pune, Mumbai, Thane, Ulhasnagar, Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayandar, Bhiwandi, and Vasai-Virar.

The BJP-NCP (Ajit Pawar) alliance is limited to only Akola, Ahilyanagar, and Panvel. On the other hand, the BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde) alliance is formed only in Chandrapur, Nagpur, Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, and Bhiwandi. Further, the Mahayuti parties will face off directly in four locations: Ichalkaranji (friendly fights), Kolhapur, Jalgaon, and Panvel.

As far as Maha Vikas Aghadi is concerned, it has also seen widespread fragmentation, with the alliance breaking down in 17 locations, including Nagpur, Malegaon, Parbhani, Latur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nanded, Sangli, Kolhapur, Jalgaon, Pune, Mumbai, Thane, Ulhasnagar, Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayandar, Bhiwandi, and Vasai-Virar.

The MVA remains intact in only five locations: Panvel, Jalna, Solapur (including MNS), Nashik (including MNS), and Dhule. Moreover, the Congress has allied with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) only in Mumbai. A similar attempt was made in Pune but failed due to conflicts between local leaders.

In the case of Thackeray-MNS-Sharad Pawar” factor, these parties have joined hands in Mumbai, Thane, Ulhasnagar and Kalyan-Dombivli.

Some of the key cities witness a flurry of activities to stitch alliances, though some parties at the last minute decided to take a U-turn. In Mumbai, a multi-cornered battle emerges. Congress has allied with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA). The Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT) has joined forces with MNS and Sharad Pawar’s NCP. The BJP and Shinde’s Shiv Sena remain united here.

In Pune, in a rare display of “family unity”, the Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar factions of the NCP have formed an alliance. They face a front consisting of the Congress, Shiv Sena(UBT), and MNS. The BJP is allied with the RPI, while Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena is contesting solo.

In Thane, the BJP and Shiv Sena are contesting together, while the Ajit Pawar-led NCP is going solo. On the other side, Shiv Sena(UBT), MNS and Sharad Pawar’s NCP have tied up while Congress is fighting independently.

Nagpur, which is CM Devendra Fadnavis’s home turf, sees a BJP-Shinde Sena alliance. However, the Congress, BSP, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP are all contesting independently.

In Pimpri-Chinchwad, similar to Pune, both NCP factions are united. The BJP remains with RPI, while the Shinde Sena, Congress, and VBA are all going solo. The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Latur see a complete breakdown of major alliances, with BJP, Shinde Sena, and Shiv Sena(UBT) all contesting independently.

The “pick-and-choose” nature of these local alliances has left voters and party workers bewildered. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, who will campaign together in Mumbai and Thane, will be forced to campaign against each other’s candidates in several other corporations.

The data indicate that local political equations have completely superseded state-level pacts. With the Mahayuti split in 24 cities, and the MVA in 17, these elections will feature highly localised and multi-cornered contests.

Political analysts suggest that this “unprecedented swapping of friends and foes” reflects the high stakes of local body elections, where regional dominance often outweighs state-level ideological pacts. With no clear “opponent” common across the 29 corporations, the 2026 municipal elections are set to be the most unpredictable in Maharashtra’s history.

Kolkata, Dec 31: A “proxy” candidate appearing in the recruitment exam for Kolkata Police Sub-Inspector was caught red-handed in the city, police said on Wednesday.

According to police, Lakhai Ghosh, who was not the aspirant, appeared for the exam.

The fraud came to light when the signature on the admit card and that of Ghosh mismatched.

The actual aspirant was Abdul Khaleque, the police said.

Ghosh, who hails from Murshidabad, was sitting for the inspector’s recruitment exam on Khaleque’s behalf.

Ghosh had managed to sit for the exam without attracting attention. However, the examiner noticed that his face did not match the photograph on the admit card, raising suspicion. Soon, other documents were verified.

That’s when the discrepancy was discovered. It was found that Ghosh’s signature did not match the signature on the document.

Police officers immediately detained Ghosh and began questioning him.

Reports suggest that both hailed from Murshidabad and met there.

“The person who has appeared on behalf of the actual candidate has been arrested. He is being questioned,” said the police.

Police sources said the officers are trying to find the actual candidate who was supposed to appear in the examination. A search has started to catch him and bring him face-to-face with the proxy candidate.

Police are trying to find out whether any financial arrangement was made between the two and if a racket was behind the conspiracy.

It is worth mentioning that earlier, allegations of malpractice had surfaced surrounding the written examination for the Kolkata Police constable recruitment.

Several individuals were arrested in connection with that incident. Moreover, Gaighata Police arrested 12 people on charges of supplying fraudulent materials to the examination centres.

Bluetooth devices, electronic gadgets, and other incriminating items were recovered from those arrested.

Furthermore, during the investigation, the authorities uncovered a large-scale racket of “proxy” candidates.

Mumbai: began Wednesday on a cool and relatively crisp note, offering residents a brief taste of winter comfort on the final morning of 2025. Clear skies, mild winds and lower humidity provided early relief, but the pleasant conditions were short-lived. As the day progressed, a thick blanket of smog engulfed large parts of the city, reducing visibility and once again bringing Mumbai’s worsening air pollution crisis into the light.

Despite favourable weather conditions, air quality quickly emerged as the city’s biggest concern. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast a bright and comfortable day, with temperatures expected to range between 18°C and 31°C. However, office-goers, morning walkers and schoolchildren stepping out early were greeted by hazy surroundings and a sharp, acrid smell in the air, particularly in traffic-heavy and low-lying areas.

According to data from the air quality monitoring platform AQI.in, Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 358 during the early hours, placing it firmly in the ‘severe’ category. After a brief improvement in pollution levels over the past few weeks, air quality has once again deteriorated sharply. Such conditions pose serious health risks to the general population and are especially dangerous for children, senior citizens and those suffering from respiratory or cardiac ailments.

The pollution spike, primarily due to construction dust and fine particulate matter. Ongoing large-scale infrastructure projects, including metro rail corridors, flyovers, coastal road extensions and extensive road-widening works, along with aggressive private real estate development, continue to release maximum amounts of dust into the atmosphere. Vehicular emissions during peak traffic hours have further compounded the problem.

Several areas emerged as severe pollution hotspots. Chembur and the Wadala Truck Terminal recorded alarmingly high AQI levels of 475 and 441 respectively, both categorised as ‘hazardous’, indicating conditions that can seriously impact even healthy individuals. Colaba followed with an AQI of 405, also in the hazardous range. Kurla recorded an AQI of 388, while Bandra registered 385, both in the severe range.

Suburban regions showed marginally better readings, though air quality remained poor overall. Kandivali East recorded an AQI of 233, while Govandi and Borivali West stood at 267 each, all falling in the ‘unhealthy’ category. Malad West (315) and Charkop (318) also slipped into the ‘severe’ bracket.

As per standard air quality classifications, AQI levels between 0 and 50 are considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘moderate’, 101 to 200 ‘poor’, 201 to 300 ‘unhealthy’, and levels above 300 fall under the ‘severe’ or ‘hazardous’ category.