Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has launched a three-day review to assess his party's position in Mumbai ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, likely to be held in 2025. This internal evaluation, covering all 227 municipal wards in the city, comes amid growing speculation that the party might contest the civic polls independently, while remaining part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.
"Uddhav ji is taking stock of the poll preparedness of Sena (UBT) in all municipal wards of Mumbai. The deliberations will go on for three days," said party leader Anil Parab.
The exercise follows a challenging period for the faction, which split from the Bal Thackeray-founded Shiv Sena in 2022.
In the recently concluded state assembly elections, the MVA — of which Sena (UBT) is a part — faced a significant setback, securing just 46 of Maharashtra's 288 assembly seats. Sena (UBT) won 20 of these, including 10 of the 36 assembly constituencies in Mumbai.
Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut recently hinted at the possibility of going solo in the BMC elections, stating that party workers were pressing for the move due to an abundance of aspirants. “Talks are on between Uddhav Thackeray and other party leaders about whether to go solo. Workers want the party to contest the polls solo,” Raut said.
The Shiv Sena, before its split, held control of the BMC — one of Asia's wealthiest civic bodies — for 25 years, from 1997 to 2022. The term of the previous elected representatives ended in early 2022, but fresh elections have been delayed, with local body polls across the state stalled pending the Supreme Court’s verdict on the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota issue.
Raut underscored the party’s dominance in Mumbai, saying, "Had we got more seats to contest in Mumbai during the assembly polls, we would have won them. It is necessary to win Mumbai; otherwise, the city could be separated from Maharashtra."
The BMC’s latest budget outlay was nearly Rs 60,000 crore, surpassing the budgets of some Indian states. Retaining control of the civic body remains a priority for Sena (UBT) after the disappointing results in the state assembly elections.
In December 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that reservation for OBCs in local bodies would not be allowed unless the government fulfilled the triple test laid down in the apex court’s 2010 order. It had ruled that until the triple test criteria was fulfilled, OBC seats would be re-notified as general category seats.
The triple test required the state government to set up a dedicated commission to gather data on the backwardness of OBCs in every local body, to specify the proportion of reservation in each local body in light of the commission’s recommendations, and ensure that such reservation does not exceed the overall 50 per cent quota ceiling.
(With inputs from PTI)