29 December,2025 04:05 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. File pic
Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Monday announced candidates for the upcoming elections to the Thane and Vasai-Virar municipal corporations. The list comes in view of strengthening the party's presence in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
Imtiaz Jaleel, the president of the party's Maharashtra unit, said that as of now, AIMIM has finalised the names of five candidates from Mumbra in Thane city and three candidates from the Vasai-Virar region, news agency PTI reported.
"The list includes professionals from diverse backgrounds, including two doctors, who will be contesting the civic elections on the AIMIM ticket," said Jaleel. He added that the party aims to field candidates with a local connection and experience in public service.
"Discussions on candidate selection for the Bhiwandi-Nizampur polls are in the final stages," Jaleel stated.
He also said that AIMIM will contest one seat in Taloja in Navi Mumbai as part of its strategy to expand its presence in urban local bodies across MMR.
Twenty-nine civic bodies, including the municipal corporations of Thane, Vasai-Virar, and Bhiwandi-Nizampur, will go to polls on January 15, and the counting of votes will take place the next day. The last day for filing nominations is Tuesday.
Earlier on Monday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced its first list of candidates for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Elections and formally informed nominees about their candidature.
According to party sources, the BJP has released the names of 66 candidates in the first list. Among the prominent names are BJP Spokesperson Navnath Ban, Mumbai BJP Yuva Morcha President Tajindersingh Tiwana, and former corporators Jitendra Patel and Neil Somaiya. All of them are expected to file their nomination papers on Monday.
Party sources further said that while AB forms have been issued to over 80 aspirants, only 66 names have been officially cleared and included in the first list so far. Additional names are expected to be announced in subsequent lists.
Meanwhile, MNS chief Raj Thackeray earlier had also called a meeting of party office bearers at Rangsharda in Bandra on Monday morning. While the official agenda is not known, party insiders said the meeting is likely to be used to explain the party's acceptance of fewer seats from Shiv Sena (UBT) in the interest of Marathi unity and Maharashtra.
(With inputs from PTI)
