While speaking alongside Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray, Uddhav expressed concerns that the political climate in the country resembles a shift from democracy to mobocracy.
The two cousins took the opportunity to unveil their alliance manifesto for the upcoming Mumbai civic polls.
Raj Thackeray emphasized the importance of respecting Marathi culture and stated that the mayors of Mumbai and other cities should be from the Marathi community.
Also Read: BMC polls: Congress promises to reopen Marathi-medium schools, tackle corruption in Mumbai
Uddhav Thackeray noted that since his government was ousted and Eknath Shinde took over the state government in June 2022, substantial funds from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation have been misused for contractors.
He claimed that if the BMC’s expenditure budget stands at Rs 15,000 crore, the advance mobilization funds required for contractors total Rs 3 lakh crore.
The former chief minister alleged this situation constitutes a Rs 3 lakh crore scam, with kickback money being utilized for the civic elections.
The BJP and its Mahayuti allies secured 68 seats unopposed in the Maharashtra civic elections scheduled for January 15.
Uddhav Thackeray accused the ruling parties of not just stealing votes now but also stealing candidates.
“If the SEC has any guts, it should annul elections where candidates were elected unopposed and restart the electoral process in those wards,” he asserted.
He stressed that having candidates chosen unopposed effectively denies voters, particularly ’GenZ,’ the opportunity to exercise their voting rights.
MNS leader Raj Thackeray warned the ruling establishment that power is transient and criticized the BJP for setting a harmful precedent.
He cautioned that the ruling party should not complain when their successors use similar tactics in a more sophisticated manner.
Raj Thackeray also pointed out that the BJP has previously approached the Supreme Court regarding similar situations in West Bengal where ruling party candidates were elected unopposed, questioning the BJP’s current stance on the matter.
Also Read: Mumbai’s mayor will be Hindu-Marathi: Fadnavis
Interestingly, the BJP has taken an assertive stance on unopposed victories, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stating at a roadshow in Chandrapur that the people’s mandate would triumph, even if opposition parties challenge it in court.
“They are free to go to court, but the people’s court has elected us. Even if they (opposition parties) pursue legal actions, the people’s mandate will stand in court,” Fadnavis remarked, while also questioning the Opposition’s reticence regarding the unopposed victories of independents and Muslim candidates.
“It’s evident they foresee their defeat and are now seeking excuses,” the chief minister mentioned in Chandrapur.
Uddhav Thackeray also criticized Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar for allegedly breaching the model code of conduct during the civic polls, interfering in the nomination process, and tampering with related CCTV footage.
Thackeray demanded Narwekar’s immediate suspension, stating that as a speaker, he should operate independently of any party allegiance and should be held accountable for violating the election code.
The BJP MLA from Colaba in South Mumbai dismissed these allegations as unfounded and politically motivated.
The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) recently requested a comprehensive report from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation chief Bhushan Gagrani in response to claims from some candidates that returning officers in South Mumbai’s Colaba area refused to accept their nomination forms on the final day of the submission process.
An official indicated that this issue concerns wards 225, 226, and 227 in the Colaba constituency, where relatives of Narwekar are contesting in the January 15 civic elections.
Rahul Narwekar’s brother Makrand Narwekar, sister Gauri Shivalkar, and sister-in-law Harshita Shivalkar are running for these wards.
A total of 15,931 candidates are competing in the elections for 29 municipal corporations on January 15. According to SEC data, 33,247 nominations were submitted, with 24,771 deemed valid after scrutiny.
Among those validated, 8,840 candidates withdrew their nominations before the deadline, which closed at 3 PM on Friday.
Elections are set to take place for 2,869 seats spread across 893 wards in these 29 municipal corporations, with Mumbai having 227 seats and the others being multi-member wards.
