Mumbai: After the dismal performance of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance (MVA) in the assembly polls and an escalating blame game about the results, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut announced on Saturday his party would go solo for local body polls, including municipal corporations of Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nagpur.
“We’re going to contest the municipal elections on our own from Mumbai to Nagpur. Whatever happens will happen. We have to test our strength at some point. Uddhav Thackeray has given us an indication. It has been decided that from Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nagpur we should contest separately,” said Raut.
The move will raise questions about the future of the MVA alliance. However, the stakes are high for the Shiv Sena (UBT) for the BMC polls since its main base is Mumbai and retaining the civic body is crucial for the party’s morale. The undivided Shiv Sena held power in the BMC for 25 years.
Polls to the civic body will be the next big clash between the Senas and also between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the BJP, which had placed second by just 2 seats in the 2017 polls. The BMC has been governed by an administrator for almost three years since March 2022.
Raut said going solo will also apply to other local body elections including zilla parishad polls to allow party workers the opportunity to contest. “When contesting as an alliance, in Lok Sabha and state assembly polls, party workers do not get the opportunity and the parties suffer. In municipal corporations, zilla parishad and nagar panchayats, parties should contest separately and strengthen their organisations,” he said.
The MVA alliance was on a high after the Lok Sabha polls in May, winning 30 of the state’s 48 seats. However, it was decimated in the state assembly polls in Nov, reduced to just 46 of the state’s 288 seats. The Shiv Sena (UBT) had the highest score of 20 seats but this was almost a third of the seats won by Eknath Shinde’s party, cementing its claim as the real Shiv Sena. After the loss, there were rising demands from the Shiv Sena (UBT) rank and file to part ways with the MVA for the BMC polls. Many within the party felt the MVA alliance alienated its core Hindutva vote-base.
Responding to Raut’s announcement, NCP (Sharad Pawar group) leader Supriya Sule said local body elections should be fought separately and not as part of the alliance.”Even the last corporation polls, we had contested separately. Local body polls are meant to provide opportunities for party workers. They should be given justice,” said Sule.
However, Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said, “Is Sanjay Raut’s view his own or that of his party? We will seek a clarification from their party chief Uddhav Thackeray and request that we contest as an alliance. But in any case, then we have our natural alliance with Sharad Pawar’s NCP,” he said.
Within the Mahayuti, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “It does not matter to us if they contest separately or together and if they remain together or split. We are on the path of progress and the public is with us.”
The Shiv Sena said MVA had little chance of survival. “This is an alliance which was not natural and is bound to fail. After the electoral loss, they are targeting each other. After some time, these parties may not survive,” said Shiv Sena minister Gulabrao Patil.
Meanwhile, Raut on Saturday reiterated it was the responsibility of the Congress party to save the India alliance which had been formed by Opposition parties before the Lok Sabha polls to take on the BJP. He said no meeting had been held since the Lok Sabha polls and the alliance had no convenor. Raut’s comments on the India alliance coupled with the party’s decision to contest BMC polls on its own has raised questions about the survival of the bloc.
Wadettiwar said, “The India Aghadi is still strong. There is no weakening of the India alliance in Delhi.”
Raut also took on Wadettiwar’s recent statement that delays in MVA seat-sharing talks may have been part of a conspiracy to hurt Congress.