MUMBAI:
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief
Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday demanded that civic elections in wards where candidates—mostly from ruling parties—were elected unopposed be cancelled and the polling process restarted.
Addressing a joint event with
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray, Uddhav alleged that democracy in the country was being replaced by “mobocracy”.
The two cousins also unveiled their alliance manifesto for the upcoming Mumbai civic elections.
Raj Thackeray asserted that Marathi identity must be respected, stating that the mayor of Mumbai and other cities in Maharashtra would be Marathi.
Uddhav Thackeray alleged that since the fall of his government in June 2022 and the formation of the Eknath Shinde-led government, the finances of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) were being diverted to benefit contractors. Claiming large-scale corruption, he said if the BMC’s annual expenditure is around Rs 15,000 crore, advance mobilisation payments to contractors amount to Rs 3 lakh crore.
“This is a Rs 3 lakh crore scam, and the kickback money is being used for civic elections,” the former chief minister alleged.
The BJP and its Mahayuti allies have won 68 seats unopposed in the civic polls scheduled for January 15. Uddhav accused the ruling parties of “stealing candidates” after allegedly “stealing votes”.
“If the State Election Commission has courage, it should cancel elections in wards where candidates were chosen unopposed and restart the poll process,” he said, adding that such outcomes deny voters—especially Gen Z—their right to vote.
Warning the ruling dispensation, Raj Thackeray said power is not permanent and accused the BJP of setting a dangerous precedent. He also recalled that the BJP had earlier approached the Supreme Court in similar cases in West Bengal, questioning the party’s current stand.
Responding to the criticism, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said at a roadshow in Chandrapur that the people’s mandate would prevail even if opposition parties approached the courts. “They can go to court, but the people’s court has already elected us,” he said, accusing the Opposition of making excuses in the face of defeat.
Uddhav Thackeray also targeted Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, accusing him of violating the model code of conduct during the civic polls, interfering in the nomination process and tampering with CCTV footage. He demanded Narwekar’s immediate suspension, arguing that a Speaker must function without political allegiance.
Narwekar, the BJP MLA from Colaba, rejected the allegations, calling them baseless and politically motivated.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) has sought a detailed report from BMC chief Bhushan Gagrani following complaints that returning officers in south Mumbai’s Colaba area refused to accept nomination forms on the final day of filing. The issue pertains to wards 225, 226 and 227, where Narwekar’s relatives are contesting.
Narwekar’s brother Makrand Narwekar, sister Gauri Shivalkar and sister-in-law Harshita Shivalkar are in the fray from wards 225, 226 and 227 respectively.
Polling will be held on January 15 for 29 municipal corporations across the state. According to SEC data, 33,247 nominations were filed, of which 24,771 were found valid. A total of 8,840 candidates withdrew, leaving 15,931 candidates contesting for 2,869 seats across 893 wards. Except for Mumbai, which has 227 single-member seats, the remaining corporations have multi-member wards.
(With agency inputs)