Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), has started a three-day check-up to see how well his party is doing in Mumbai. This is important because there are local elections coming up next year. After a split in the party in 2022, the recent elections were seen as a big test for Uddhav’s group, which is part of the opposition alliance called Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Sadly, the MVA did not do well, winning only 46 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections.
In Mumbai, there are 36 assembly seats, and Shiv Sena (UBT) contested in 21 but only won 10. Anil Parab, a leader from Shiv Sena (UBT), mentioned that Uddhav is looking into how ready they are for the upcoming elections in all 227 municipal wards in Mumbai. These local elections, including for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), could happen in March or April 2025, depending on a Supreme Court decision about OBC (Other Backward Class) reservations in January.
After a disappointing performance in the state elections, Shiv Sena (UBT) is eager to keep control of the BMC, which is one of the richest municipal bodies in Asia. The last budget for the corporation was about Rs 60,000 crore, which is more than what some states have. Most of the municipal corporations, including the BMC, had their terms end in 2022.
Back in December 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that OBC reservations in local bodies cannot happen unless the government meets certain conditions set in a 2010 order. These conditions, known as the “triple test,” require setting up a special commission to collect information on OBCs, deciding how many seats should be reserved based on that information, and making sure the total reservation does not exceed 50%.
Leave a Reply