Voting for 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra will take place tomorrow. The political focus is mainly on Mumbai, where the BJP-led Mahayuti is seeking to wrest control of the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) from the Shiv Sena.
Over 3.48 crore voters will decide the fate of 15,931 candidates for 2,869 seats in 893 wards. Counting will take place on January 16.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis led the campaign for the Mahayuti alliance. He campaigned tirelessly across the state. The elections mark the first BMC elections after the 2022 split in Shiv Sena, which has been ruling the civic body for the last 25 years.
The elections also saw the coming together of Thackeray cousins, Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, after two decades, as they sought to consolidate Marathi votes.
Elections are being held after a gap of more than six years, with major civic bodies in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and cities such as Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Thane, Solapur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar going to the polls.
Instead of local issue, the main topics in the civic polls ranged from Hindu-Muslim to India-Pakistan. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis led a massive road show in Nagpur by riding a motorbike on Tuesday, while Uddhav Thackeray, his son Aditya and Raj Thackeray’s son Amit did door-to-door campaigning.
The elections saw the chief minister campaigning against his deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s party, while Ajit Pawar levelled corruption charges against BJP and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. Uddhav Thackeray branded CM Fadnavis as anti-Marathi.
Minister in Fadnavis government, Nitesh Rane alleged that Uddhav Thackeray is trying to appease Muslim voters.
Several BJP leaders alleged Eknath Shinde’s partymen were distributing money to voters, while in Ambernath and Kalyan-Dombivali, BJP and Eknath Shinde’s Sena supporters came to blows.
All political equations were thrown to the winds and alliances were given a go-by during the civic polls.
Questions arise: Will the rivalry that is being noticed now continue after the results are out on Jan 16?
Will Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena again join hands with Congress?
Will BJP and Eknath Shinde’s Sena manage to remove bitterness?
Will Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar’s parties unite after the civic poll results are out?
An amazing scenario unfolded during the civic polls. Ideologies and alliances were given the go-by. There was hardly any distinction between friends and enemies.
Devendra Fadnavis toiled hard during campaigning. Uddhav and Raj Thackeray made it an existential issue.
If the Thackeray cousins lose this time in BMC, their parties will be in deep waters. This election will also be a test for the late Balasaheb Thackeray’s legacy. It was the late Balasaheb Thackeray who used to wield his remote to run BMC.
Secondly, decency and restraint were thrown to the winds by speakers of all main parties during the campaign while making accusations.
One leader said, BJP will separate Mumbai from the rest of Maharashtra, while another leader said, Uddhav Thackeray will install a Muslim as Mumbai mayor. Uddhav Thackeray said, if BJP comes to power, it will install a Hindu as mayor, not a Marathi as mayor.
This civic election saw principles thrown to the winds while choosing allies. I think this trend will be seen in Maharashtra politics in the coming weeks.
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