Shrikant Pangarkar, an accused in the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, won the Jalna Municipal Corporation election in Maharashtra as an independent candidate from ward number 13.
He secured 2,661 votes, defeating his nearest rival, Raosaheb Dhoble of the Bharatiya Janata Party, by a margin of 184 votes. The election was part of the broader Maharashtra local body polls, with counting for 29 civic bodies underway on 16 January 2026. Pangarkar’s victory comes while the murder case against him remains under trial, and he is currently out on bail.
According to The Hindu, Pangarkar contested as an independent after being denied a party ticket by the Shiv Sena. Most major political parties, except Shiv Sena, fielded candidates against him. Pangarkar had previously served as a member of the Jalna Municipal Council from 2001 to 2006 and later joined the right-wing Hindu Janjagruti Samiti after being denied a ticket in 2011.
As reported by Hindustan Times, Pangarkar briefly joined the Shiv Sena in November 2024, but his induction was put on hold by Eknath Shinde following public outcry. After his victory, Pangarkar stated that the ongoing murder case has no bearing on the election and maintained his innocence, saying, “I stand before the Court, and justice will be done to me because I am 100% innocent.”
As highlighted by The News Minute, Pangarkar celebrated his win with supporters in Jalna, a city in Maharashtra’s Marathwada region. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena did not field a candidate in his ward. Pangarkar was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad in August 2018 under the Explosives Act, Explosive Substances Act, and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court on 4 September 2024.
“Election and that matter (Gauri Lankesh murder) have nothing to do with each other. That matter is related to Karnataka. I stand before the Court, and justice will be done to me because I am 100% innocent,” Pangarkar said, as quoted by ANI on 9 January 2026.
Coverage revealed that the Maharashtra civic polls saw significant competition, with the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance leading in several urban bodies, including Jalna. The results for all 29 municipal corporations, including the high-profile Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, were closely watched across the state.
Political controversy also surrounded the conduct of the elections. Reporting indicated that opposition parties, including the Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray, raised concerns about the use of marker pens instead of traditional indelible ink, alleging that the ink could be wiped off and questioning the integrity of the voting process.
Legal scrutiny of the local body elections was ongoing, with analysis showed that the Bombay High Court was handling over 100 petitions related to various aspects of the elections, including ward delimitation, reservation, and nomination rejections. The judiciary played a key role in ensuring procedural fairness amid the high-stakes political environment.
“The faith of the people in our democratic process must be protected at all costs but the election commission and the BMC seem to be completely unbothered about it,” said Mumbai Congress president Prof Varsha Gaikwad, reflecting concerns about election management.
Voter engagement was also a focus, as further details showed that civic bodies like the Pune Municipal Corporation used creative outreach, such as comic books featuring Mahatma Gandhi, to encourage youth participation in local elections and highlight the importance of municipal governance.
Note: This article is produced using AI-assisted tools and is based on publicly available information. It has been reviewed by The Quint's editorial team before publishing.