Maharashtra BJP leader Ashish Shelar on Tuesday alleged the ruling Shiv Sena was conspiring to postpone the elections to the Mumbai civic body, due next February, citing the pandemic situation and possibility of a third wave.
Shelar also alleged the Sena was trying to get an extension to the current governing body of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) so that it could receive a "cut" in the Rs 20,000 crore tender to be floated for setting up a sewage treatment plant.
"The Shiv Sena is conspiring to postpone the BMC elections under the guise of the COVID-19 situation and the possibility of a third wave of the pandemic. If the Sena's demand is to be accepted, then we will demand that the BMC's governing body should not float or clear new tenders while on extension".
The Bandra west MLA also alleged prevalence of "cut (money)" practice for tenders under the watch of the Sena which is the ruling party in the BMC for nearly three decades.
"The BJP is against allowing any extension to the current governing body of the BMC," he said.
The Sena and the BJP, which were ruling partners in Maharashtra from 2014 to 2019, had contested the Mumbai civic polls held in February 2017, separately.
In a setback for the Sena, which considers Mumbai as its citadel, the results had thrown up a hung verdict as the BJP made giant strides by winning 82 seats, just two seats behind the Sena.
The BJP, however, chose to sit in the opposition as it was sharing power with the Sena in the state at that time.
In the 227-member BMC, the Sena has 97 corporators and the BJP 83.
The BJP, however, has made its intentions clear to step up its challenge in the 2022 BMC elections to oust the Sena.
"If the BMC elections are announced the next year, the BJP will contest as per the given framework and adhere to the COVID-19 protocol," Shelar, a former minister in the Devendra Fadnavis cabinet, said.
He said the BMC had earlier announced setting up a sewage treatment plant and floating a tender worth Rs 20,000 crore for this purpose.
"The tender is yet to be floated..This is the reason the Sena is conspiring to get an extension to the current governing body so that it could receive cuts (read bribe) once the tender is out," he alleged.
Shelar said the Sena has betrayed the citizens of Mumbai which suffers due to water-logging almost every monsoon.
"The party (Sena) promised that it won't allow inundation of Mumbai, but it has not set up flood gates in all the crucial points in the city," he claimed.
In a veiled swipe at Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray and his Chief Minister father Uddhav Thackeray, Shelar said all the developments are taking place in Worli only.
"The BMC is prioritising and concentrating works only in select areas in the city. The works like (installing) powerful pumps to drain out rainwater and replacing old pipes with new ones have taken place in Kalanagar only," he alleged.
The private residence of Sena president Thackeray is located in the Kalaganar area in suburban Bandra.
The Shiv Sena heads the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra with the NCP and the Congress.
The BJP is the largest opposition party in the state Legislative Assembly.
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