Shiv Sena (UBT) to go solo in local and civic body polls in Maharashtra

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) has unilaterally announced that the party will go solo in the upcoming nagar panchayat, nagar parishad, zilla parishad and municipal corporation elections. Party MP Sanjay Raut announced this here on Saturday.

”We will fight on our own from Nagpur to Mumbai. We have to see for ourselves, whatever happens, happens. It is our decision. When will the workers be given a chance in Mumbai, Thane and Nagpur? Not giving a chance to the workers will hurt the party's growth,” Raut said.

He also said, “all parties should contest the local body elections on their own and give a chance to their workers."

“In the alliance, the workers do not get a chance to fight the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections. This is affecting the party, in fact, the growth of the party. We should fight in the municipal corporation, district council and Nagar Panchayat on our own and strengthen our party," said Raut indicating that the party is ready for revival and stay relevant despite drubbing in the state assembly elections.

He told reporters that the party chief Uddhav Thackeray has given his consent for fighting ensuing local and civic body elections independently. Thackeray had recently interacted with the party cadres from across the state and during those meetings the workers had made a strong case for going solo.

Raut’s announcement is being seen in the Maharashtra political circle as a beginning of the disbanding of the Maha Vikas Aghadi which contested together the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections.

Raut on Friday had dared the Congress to announce that the INDIA bloc does not exist any more, especially after its move to take on Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi assembly elections. For Shiv Sena, its supremacy over India’s richest civic body, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation with a budget of almost Rs 40,000 crore is important to remain in reckoning. Besides, the party sees an opportunity to rejuvenate and revive going solo in the elections to other civic and local bodies.

Raut’s statement comes a day after former chief minister Eknath Shinde hinted that the Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP will together fight the upcoming local and civic body elections in a bid to retain the MahaYuti’s victory march and its dominance.

Reacting to Raut’s announcement, the NCP-SP legislature party leader and former Minister Jitendra Awhad said, "If the Thackeray group has made a decision, who are we to stop it? Raut should have discussed and later taken the decision.”

Shiv Sena UBT’s move is crucial as the party was not comfortable with the Congress party’s arrogance and its successive steps to undermine the regional parties. Raut and state Congress chief Nana Patole had differed over seat sharing that delayed the Maha Vikas Aghadi to seal the seat sharing agreement and jointly decide the poll strategy to take on the MahaYuti.

NCP-SP MP Dr Amol Kolhe on Thursday had targeted the Congress and Shiv Sena UBT over their style of functioning. “The Congress party's broken back is not ready to straighten out yet, while the Thackeray group is not ready to wake up from its slumber. Shiv Sena and Congress have not yet shaken off their stagnation, so we (NCP-SP) will have to work from now on with new enthusiasm to revive and win the local and civic body elections,” he had told the party workers.

On the other hand, veteran Congress legislator Vijay Wadettiwar had commented, "Had the stalemate over the seat sharing resolved in two days, the MVA partners would have got poll planning and campaigning. We could not plan a joint program for the elections with all three parties. There were many reasons for this. So this is one of the main reasons, the mess in seat allocation and the time spent on it definitely affected the MVA’s poll prospects badly.”