Uddhav Thackeray seeks cancellation of unopposed civic poll wins in Mumbai

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday demanded that civic elections in wards where candidates — largely from ruling parties — were elected unopposed be cancelled and the poll process restarted, alleging that democracy was being replaced by “mobocracy”.

Speaking alongside Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray, Uddhav Thackeray said the atmosphere in the country reflected an erosion of democratic norms. The two cousins also unveiled their alliance manifesto for the upcoming Mumbai civic polls.

Raj Thackeray asserted that Marathi identity must be respected, saying the mayor of Mumbai and other cities in Maharashtra would be Marathi.

Targeting the ruling dispensation, Uddhav Thackeray alleged that since his government was dislodged in June 2022 and an Eknath Shinde-led government took charge, the wealth of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had been splurged on contractors.

“If the BMC’s expenditure budget is Rs 15,000 crore, then the amount needed to give to contractors for different works in the form of advance mobilisation is Rs 3 lakh crore,” he claimed. The former chief minister alleged that this amounted to a Rs 3 lakh crore scam and that kickback money was being used to influence the civic polls.

The allegations come amid the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its Mahayuti allies winning 68 seats unopposed in the Maharashtra civic polls scheduled for 15 January. Uddhav Thackeray alleged that after “vote-stealing”, the ruling parties were now “stealing candidates”.

“If the Maharashtra State Election Commission has courage, it should cancel elections where candidates were chosen unopposed and initiate the poll process again in those wards,” he said, adding that unopposed selections denied voters, especially Gen Z, the opportunity to exercise their franchise.

Uddhav ThackerayIssuing a warning to the ruling dispensation, Raj Thackeray said power was not permanent and accused the BJP of setting a wrong precedent. He said the party should not complain if successors later resorted to similar tactics in a more refined manner. The MNS chief also recalled that the BJP had approached the Supreme Court of India in the past over unopposed victories in local body polls in West Bengal and questioned its current stand.

The BJP went on the offensive, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis saying at a roadshow in Chandrapur that the people’s mandate would prevail even if opposition parties approached the courts. “They can certainly go to court, but the people’s court has elected us. Even if they move the court, people’s mandate will prevail,” Fadnavis said, while questioning the Opposition’s silence on unopposed wins by independents and Muslim candidates. “They can see their defeat clearly and are now trying to find excuses,” he added.

Uddhav Thackeray also targeted Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, accusing him of violating the model code of conduct in force for the civic polls, interfering in the nomination process and tampering with CCTV footage linked to the exercise. He demanded Narwekar’s immediate suspension, saying a Speaker must function without political allegiance, and called for him to be booked for alleged poll code violations.

Narwekar, the BJP MLA from Colaba in south Mumbai, has dismissed the allegations as baseless and politically motivated.

Amid the row, the Maharashtra State Election Commission on Thursday sought a detailed report from BMC chief Bhushan Gagrani following complaints by some candidates that returning officers in Colaba refused to accept their nomination forms on the final day of filing. Officials said the issue pertained to wards 225, 226 and 227, where relatives of Narwekar are contesting the polls. His brother Makrand Narwekar, sister Gauri Shivalkar and sister-in-law Harshita Shivalkar are in the fray from the three wards.

According to SEC data, 15,931 candidates are contesting elections to 29 municipal corporations on 15 January. A total of 33,247 nominations were filed, of which 24,771 were found valid after scrutiny. Of these, 8,840 candidates withdrew their nominations by the deadline, which ended at 3 pm on Friday.

Elections are being held for 2,869 seats across 893 wards in the 29 municipal corporations. Mumbai has 227 seats, while the remaining corporations have multi-member wards.