Mumbai civic elections to be litmus test for Shiv Sena

The much-delayed elections to the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) would prove to be a litmus test for the rebellion-hit Shiv Sena.

Post-monsoon, the polls to the Mumbai civic body are expected to be held -- around September-October, 2022 -- along with a dozen other municipal corporations and local bodies.

One of the biggest civic bodies of India in terms of geographical size, budget and reserves, BMC has its own importance in Maharashtra politics.

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The Shiv Sena has been controlling the BMC for the last several decades and the Mayoral seat.

Since 1971, the Shiv Sena has got 21 Mayors in Mumbai.

From 1996-2022, for almost a quarter of a century, the Shiv Sena controlled the BMC with a majority, without a break.

For Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray, maintaining a stronghold in the Mumbai civic body after the rebellion by Eknath Shinde, is the single most biggest challenge.

“Mumbai is the birthplace of Shiv Sena and Mumbai is very important for the Shiv Sena. In Mumbai, the network of Shiv Sena is at a grassroots-level in each and every ward, every colony, every locality,” veteran political analyst Prakash Akolkar said.

The number of electoral wards in the BMC has been increased from 227 to 236 after the delimitation and reservation process.

The Shiv Sena has constantly been No 1 in the BMC polls -- in 1997 (103 seats), 2002 (97 seats), 2007 (84 seats), 2012 (75 seats) and 2017 (84 seats).

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If one looks at in detail the party position in 2017 polls, Shiv Sena leads the tally with 84 followed by Bharatiya Janata Party (82) Congress (31), Nationalist Congress Party (9), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (7), Samajwadi Party (6), All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (2) and others (6).

“The gap between Shiv Sena and BJP is wafer thin. If the BJP does an alliance with Eknath Shinde-faction and MNS, it would be a real challenge to the Shiv Sena. On the other hand, Congress has been adopting the stand of ‘ekla cholo re’ in Mumbai. Earlier, the Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar-led NCP had taken an in-principle decision to contest together in civic polls,” a political observer said, adding that now that the situation has changed.

“Shiv Sena needs to work together with NCP and Congress and for this, there should be an early announcement so that there is no confusion among the rank and files,” a senior politician said.