Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray is starting a three-day review of his party’s position in Mumbai as civic elections are expected next year. This comes after a big split in the Shiv Sena party formed by his father, Bal Thackeray, in 2022. The recent assembly elections were a big test for Uddhav’s party, which is part of the opposition group called Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Sadly, the MVA did not do well, winning only 46 seats in the entire state, with Sena (UBT) winning just 20 of those.
In Mumbai, there are 36 assembly seats. Sena (UBT) took part in 21 of these and managed to win 10. Anil Parab, a leader of Sena (UBT), said that Uddhav is checking how ready the party is for elections in all 227 city wards. This review will take place over three days.
Elections for local bodies, like the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), might happen in March or April 2025, depending on a court decision about OBC (Other Backward Class) reservations that is expected in January. After not doing well in the state elections, Sena (UBT) wants to keep control of the BMC, one of the richest civic organizations in Asia. The last budget for the BMC was nearly Rs 60,000 crore, which is more than some smaller states.
Most municipal corporations, including the BMC, had their five-year terms end in 2022. Back in December 2021, the Supreme Court said that OBC reservations in local bodies should not happen unless the government meets certain conditions. These conditions include collecting data about OBC needs in every local body, specifying how many OBC seats there will be, and keeping the overall reservation from going above 50%.
Leave a Reply