Mumbai: With BMC polls looming, politics over Mumbai’s rain chaos escalated on Tuesday with the Shiv Sena (UBT), which once held power in the civic body in alliance with former ally BJP, trading charges with the Mahayuti govt. BMC has been run by the municipal commissioner as an administrator for the last three years since civic polls have not been held.“Last night Anand Dighe appeared in the dreams of many. He asked – “Where is Dy CM Eknath Shinde? Where is he now that Mumbai and Thane are drowning?” said Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut. Shinde holds the urban development portfolio, which controls municipal corporations. His mentor was Shiv Sena Thane strongman Anand Dighe.Among other opposition leaders, Aaditya Thackeray demanded the state compensate those affected by Monday’s flooding. “The people whose homes and shops were affected by flooding need to be compensated. BMC has already been looted so the state govt should compensate them,” he said.Congress questioned how the Metro 3 station at Worli got flooded, saying chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had pushed for its inauguration before the project was ready. In response, state transport minister Pratap Sarnaik said Metro 3 had experienced some technical issues because the rains came early. “Some work was still pending but no one expected the rains to come this early. This will get resolved in a day or two,” he said. “Even the coastal road was criticised earlier but we can all see how convenient it is,” he added.Union minister Narayan Rane from BJP pitched in saying the undivided Shiv Sena was in power in the BMC during the 2005 deluge. “Who was in power in the BMC during the 2005 deluge? Did the Mithi river not exist then? He is raising these issues because of the BMC polls,” said Rane.In Thane, Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske claimed Shinde, despite being the urban development minister in the MVA govt, was deliberately kept away from key planning meetings of the BMC.“I am witness to the fact that Shinde was kept away from all meetings related to the BMC. I approached MP Sanjay Raut then, who told me that all matters related to the BMC were and would be controlled by the Thackeray family and their close associates. Raut told me to inform Shinde not to interfere in the BMC affairs,” Mhaske told reporters.Mhaske launched a scathing attack on the Thackerays, calling them “the real corrupt politicians” and alleging their role in various scams during the pandemic, including the purchase of bags for corpses during Covid.