Opposition leaders have raised serious allegations of partiality by election officials after several nomination papers were rejected ahead of the Thane Municipal Corporation elections.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Rajan Vichare, MNS chief Avinash Jadhav, and NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad held a joint press briefing on Wednesday night, accusing the returning officer in Wagle Estate of favouring certain candidates. The leaders claimed that nominations from Shiv Sena (UBT), MNS, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), and independent candidates in wards 16, 17, and 18 were unfairly rejected, while candidates from Shinde Sena, including Ekta Bhoir and Shilpa Wagh, were accepted despite alleged discrepancies.

“These officials have turned into servants of the ruling party,” Awhad said, demanding criminal action against the returning officer for alleged misconduct.

MNS city president Ravi More announced that his party and affected candidates would stage a hunger strike on Thursday in protest.

In Mumbra, NCP leader Sudhir Bhagat objected to the nomination of party candidate Moreshwar Kinne, citing his prior disqualification over unauthorised construction. Bhagat claimed his evidence was ignored by officials.

Across other municipal bodies, scrutiny has also led to large-scale disqualifications. In Bhiwandi-Nizampur, 77 of 1,033 nominations were rejected, while Navi Mumbai saw 117 out of 956 candidates disqualified. Common reasons included incomplete affidavits, missing tax or utility clearances, and caste certificate discrepancies for reserved seats, officials said.

Elections for 29 municipal corporations, including Thane, Bhiwandi, and Navi Mumbai, are scheduled for January 15, with counting planned for January 16.