Sena in battle mode to retain corporators
Shiv Sena attempts to retain corporators as many are said to be in touch with the rebel group
Linah Baliga
MUMBAI: Leaving no stone unturned in the attempt to keep his flock intact in the civic body, Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday virtually addressed the erstwhile Sena corporators from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Over 90 Sena corporators turned up at Sena Bhavan in Shivaji Park in a show of strength.
Party sources said that the focus is now on retaining the existing former corporators after betrayal from a seemingly major chunk of Sena MLAS who joined Eknath Shinde’s rebel camp. Amid a buzz that some Thane corporators from Sena may pledge their support to the Shinde camp, sources in the Sena cadre said that at least 45-50 former corporators are in touch with Shinde.
Addressing the former Sena corporators, Aaditya Thackeray said that defected MLAS “have no other option than to join BJP”. “If they still want to remain ministers, they have to be with BJP. But if they want to be a Shiv Sainik with respect, they should come forward and rebuild Sena. They (rebels) should have the courage to oppose in Maharashtra and not go to Surat or Guwahati,” Thackeray said.
“Shiv Sena’s strength is not just in corporators but in common Sena workers. We need people who have Shiv Sena in their hearts and blood. Those who are priceless and not ones who have price tags,” he added.
Parmeshwar Kadam, a former corporator from Ghatkopar, said that Uddhav Thackeray reiterated to former corporators what he had said to the MLAS.
Shraddha Jadhav, Sena corporator who attended the meeting, said the party chief’s words have emboldened them to contest the civic elections with full vigour and instilled confidence in them.
Despite the assurances and huddles, the cracks within Sena are visible even in the civic corridors, the long-held bastion of the party.
This could spell doom for the upcoming civic elections for the already disbanded Sena, said a former corporator, whose family member, a sitting Sena MLA from a prestigious ward, recently joined the Shinde camp.
“More than 40-50 corporators are in touch with Eknath Shinde and there is a high probability of them joining his camp to contest the civic elections. Even those who attended the meeting at Sena Bhavan are in contact with him. They will wait and watch and not disclose their plans but these Sena corporators are going to leave for sure,” the corporator said.
The former corporator who also plans to join the Shinde camp said, “Eknath Shinde was available and easily approachable for all elected representatives. He was always ready to give funds and was always available for local-level representatives.”
“The main reason for joining his camp is that there should have been a personal touch with elected representatives which was lacking. But even in BMC, the Sena leaders were in touch with administration instead of their corporators,” the former corporator added.
One of the glaring issues in the BMC that cropped up in the last few years was when some corporators from Sena got ₹25-30 crore in funds from the budget despite having smallsized wards.
Former Sena corporator from Prabhadevi Samadhan Sarvankar was not invited to the meeting at Sena Bhavan. Incidentally, his father, MLA Sada Sarvankar, joined the Shinde camp on Thursday.
Sarvankar said that he would have attended the meeting had he been invited.
He said that the corporators were disgruntled because only a selected few corporators were given ₹20-30 crore in funds while the others got ₹1-1.5 crore.
“Even vehicles were given to some top 10 corporators. Most of the corporators were also displeased because many assistant commissioners never paid heed to their grievances,” he said.
Suvarna Karanje, former Sena corporator from Kanjurmarg, who attended the meeting said, “Shiv Sena is synonymous with Thackeray. This betrayal makes no difference and is unethical. If the defected MLAS have the courage they should stand for elections again and not misuse the Shiv Sena banner.”
Pravina Morachkar, former Kurla corporator, stood with a placard outside Sena Bhavan which read: “Our soul is Balasaheb. Our breath is Uddhavsaheb. Our strength is Adityasaheb. In our blood is Shiv Sena.”
“All BMC Sena corporators are with Uddhavsaheb. We are in touch with other people and they too strongly support him,” said former Sena corporator Anil Kokil from Lalbaug-parel. Senior BJP leader and MP Manoj Kotak, meanwhile, is confident that his party will sweep the civic polls this year.
“Already Shiv Sena has lost the mandate of the people due to its misconduct in the last 30 years. Corruption, and not fulfilling commitments are the reasons Mumbaikars want Sena to be ousted. There is not much doubt left now that Sena will lose the civic elections this year. BJP had won 84 seats in the 2017 civic polls and is confident of winning 120 seats this time around. Whether it is the Covid situation or waterlogging, Sena has failed miserably,” said Kotak.