Sena’s hold over BMC on shaky ground

The current political turmoil in the state has also had a ripple effect on erstwhile Shiv Sena corporators who are now feeling increasingly insecure about their future in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The civic elections are usually held in April-May but were postponed this year due to the issue of reservation for Other Backward Castes. The polls are now slated to be held post monsoon. As a result, the terms of corporators ended on March 8, and municipal chief Iqbal Singh Chahal has been presiding over the civic body as administrator.

Sena corporators fear that being away from the public eye has already diminished their chances of getting re-elected in the upcoming civic elections but the ongoing political turmoil will further impact Sena’s hold in the BMC, which is the richest civic body in Asia.

The Shiv Sena came to power in the BMC in 1985 and has held the reins of the corporation ever since. Much of the Sena’s power in the city comes from its seemingly unshakeable hold over the civic body. In 2017, the fight for control of the corporation became intense with Sena and BJP finishing neck-and-neck, winning 84 and 82 seats respectively.

Mumbai’s former mayor Kishori Pednekar and Sena’s former corporator, who had chaired the general body meetings in the BMC till March 2022, said, “Even though the road ahead seems difficult, we are prepared to face it courageously. We will gear up for BMC elections in four months. Without Sena corporators, the BMC has never functioned in Mumbai.”

A Sena corporator, on condition of anonymity, said that Urban Development minister Eknath Shinde’s betrayal has shaken party workers. “This change in the political landscape has made our chances of winning BMC elections bleak. Since we are already out of sight and not working on the ground, our connect with people has reduced considerably,” he said.

There were mixed reactions from former councillors of the party who were confident of Shiv Sena coming back to power in the upcoming civic elections. Advocate Santosh Kharat, former councillor from Worli’s BDD chawl felt that BMC elections are not the same as legislative council elections. “The MLAs who went with Shinde are not from Mumbai except for Yamini Jadhav. So, when BMC goes to polls it will not affect us,” he said.

Shraddha Gudhekar, former councillor from Kandivali, is optimistic that Sena will emerge victorious in the again. “People elect corporators for the work done and we have done a lot of work. We just feel bad about the fact that the government worked tirelessly during the pandemic for 2.5 years and faced this unexpected crisis.”

Ashish Chemburkar, former councillor from Worli said that leaving aside two Sena MLAs who were from Byculla and Borivali, the rest were from villages and so it would not affect the elections in the city.

Although they are no longer sitting corporators, many are gearing up for polls at the grassroots level. Ramdas Kamble, a former councillor from Sion Koliwada, said, “We are reaching out to people for roadwork, tree trimming and other developmental work. We don’t want to dent our chances by not being in public eye,” said Kamble.

The change in the political scenario will not affect the civic polls, feels senior Sena corporator Rajul Patel. “We are confident about winning this year too,” she said.

However, civic sources are not so sure about Shiv Sena retaining BMC this time around. “Shiv Sena is in an even more uncertain position now. BJP had widened its vote bank in 2017 and Sena barely managed to win in 2017 civic elections. The stakes are not in Sena’s favour for the upcoming civic polls,” said a civic insider.