Nation

Battle for the BMC and rallying against the EVM

Markadwadi, a village in Solapur, was the first to propose a mock poll with paper ballots on 3 December. But the villagers were restrained by the administration

MVA legislators protest against EVMs outside the Maharashtra assembly
MVA legislators protest against EVMs outside the Maharashtra assembly NH

With an annual budget of Rs 60,000 crore, the BMC (BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation) is among the richest municipal bodies in the country. Elections have not been held for the past three years.

In the absence of elected councillors, the ruling coalition’s MLAs and local leaders enjoyed considerable clout with opposition and ordinary folk left with little or no say at all. The undivided Shiv Sena controlled the BMC for 25 years until the split engineered by the BJP.

With the Mahayuti alliance winning 132 out of the 148 seats it contested in the assembly elections last month, the BJP is out to wrest control of the BMC. A BJP mayor in the country’s commercial capital is what it’s after.

In his time, Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray saw the BMC as a rich source of funds and a useful platform to influence, oblige and arm-twist the governments in power, especially as the Sena lacked majority in the assembly. Balasaheb believed the Marathi manoos was served demonstrably and effectively through the BMC.

Given the connect the Thackerays share with the local body, the impending battle over it at a time of the BJP’s choosing is arguably the last chance for Uddhav Thackeray to turn the Shiv Sena (UBT) around. With the election commission handing over the original Shiv Sena symbol to Eknath Shinde’s breakaway faction, Uddhav Thackeray could lose his legitimacy if he were to lose the BMC poll as well.

Already, Shinde’s party has won the battle of perception by winning 55 seats as against UBT’s 20. Shinde has also spirited away 60 of Uddhav’s BMC councillors to his side. In other words, it’s do or die for Uddhav.

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The Shiv Sena (UBT) has launched a two pronged strategy to win back the support of core Shiv Sainiks. Accused of abandoning Balasaheb’s hard Hindutva and indulging in Muslim appeasement since parting with the BJP, they are out to re-establish their credentials. Uddhav loyalists, party leaders and former corporators are beating the pavements, going door to door to dispel the notion that he has deviated from Hindutva. Uddhav has been vocal on the plight of minorities in Bangladesh and stepped in to prevent the Railways from demolishing the 80-year-old Hanuman temple near Dadar station.

Following protests by the Sena (UBT), the Railways withdrew the notice, embarrassing the BJP in the process. A defensive Devendra Fadnavis said the government would follow the court orders.

Meanwhile, Aaditya Thackeray, who performed the maha aarti at the Dadar temple, has been raising issues of corruption and wayward policies in the BMC. Shinde, he pointed out, had failed to make the city pothole-free. There were, Aaditya alleged, two “road scams” in the city worth Rs 12,000 crore (an allegation endorsed by the BJP as well). Uddhav is vigorously opposing the garbage collection tax that the BMC plans to impose on every flat owner. The tax may range from Rs 100 to Rs 1,000 per flat. The Thackerays’ campaign for control over the BMC gains urgency in the light of checks and balances over the state government and the Adani’s Dharavi ‘redevelopment’ project, largely viewed as a land grab.

The Thackerays can take heart from the fact that they retained their stronghold of Mahim-Dadar in the assembly elections. The victory here has boosted the morale of SS (UBT) workers after their somewhat disappointing performance in the assembly election—out of the 36 assembly seats in the city, the BJP won 15, the SS (UBT) 10 seats and SS(Shinde) six.

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This too has helped salvage some pride and offers some hope as they fight to recover lost ground.

Shinde’s future tense

Good humour seems to have deserted Eknath Shinde. Only last month he was bantering at a press conference about Ajit Dada being experienced at taking the oath, day or night, with Devendra Fadnavis joining in the laughter that followed. Since then, the strain is showing, and Shinde seems a worried man. Ditched by the BJP, ignored in the distribution of portfolios with plum departments going to the BJP and Ajit Pawar, he is having a hard time controlling a disappointed flock. Shinde has even mooted the idea of ministers pledging (via affidavits) that they would resign after twoand-a-half years, in order to make room for new faces.

The BJP knows that controlling the BMC will consolidate its position in the state. It would like to confine Shinde to Thane and Kalyan–Dombivali municipalities. Chief minister Fadnavis has shown the door to many of the bureaucrats close to Shinde, replacing them with his own loyalists. Ashish Shelar, Mumbai BJP president and now also a minister, has demanded an investigation of the “road scams” under Shinde, and written a letter to BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagnani.

Shinde appears hemmed in. He can’t afford to look like the BJP’s puppet. And yet, he has no option but to lick his wounds and fall in line. The bitterness between him and Uddhav is such that the two factions coming together seems nigh impossible.

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EVM hatao, loktantra bachao

Protests against the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are rippling across Maharashtra—from the villages to the legislature. On 16 December, the first day of the assembly’s winter session, MLAs of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) chanted “EVM hatao, loktantra bachao” (ditch EVMs, save democracy) on the steps of Vidhan Bhavan.

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The protest was led by Ambadas Danve, leader of opposition in the legislative council, with the demand that elections be conducted using ballot papers instead of EVMs.

Markadwadi, a village in Solapur, was the first to propose a mock poll with paper ballots on 3 December. But the villagers were restrained by the administration with heavy police deployment. The villagers then invited veteran leader Sharad Pawar to address them. The gram sabha in Kolevadi village in Satara passed a resolution against EVMs. Protests were held in Chhatrapati Shivaji Nagar, along with a symbolic funeral procession of EVMs. In Nashik, thousands of people went on a rally with placards and slogans against the EVM.

At an event held in Mumbai, social activist Teesta Setalvad raised the point that the election commission had not yet shared relevant data to set doubts at rest, and that in itself was suspicious. Additional chief election officer Kiran Kulkarni’s statement that he had verified 1,440 VVPATs in 288 assembly constituencies (five VVPATs per constituency) and found that the VVPAT slips perfectly matched the EVM count, failed to reassure.

At least 11 losing candidates including NCP(SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar from Baramati, Prashant Jagtap from Hadapsar and Congress candidate Ramesh Bagwe from Pune Cantonment demanded a recount and audit of 137 EVMs and deposited Rs 66.64 lakh as the mandatory fee. But the exercise was not carried out, on the pretext that the stipulated deadline had been missed.

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