Don't rob Gen Z of votes: Uddhav demands cancellation of 68 'unopposed' civic wins, BJP hits back

Mumbai, Jan 4 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday urged the State Election Commission to cancel results in 68 civic wards where ruling Mahayuti nominees were declared winners unopposed, saying uncontested victories effectively rob 'Gen Z' and first-time voters of their voting right.

Sharing the stage with MNS chief Raj Thackeray to unveil their joint manifesto for the upcoming polls to the Mumbai civic body, Uddhav warned that democracy must not be overrun by "mobocracy.” Referring to the uncontested victories in the run-up to the January 15 elections, Uddhav said, "If the SEC has courage, it should cancel elections where candidates were chosen unopposed and initiate the poll process again in those civic wards.” The unopposed election of candidates is akin to denying voters, especially the 'GenZ' electorate, the chance to exercise their franchise, he added.

The former chief minister launched a scathing attack on the Mahayuti government, saying that since his government was dislodged and Eknath Shinde helmed the state (in June 2022), the wealth of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is being splurged on contractors.

He claimed that after vote-stealing, the ruling parties are now stealing candidates.

Accusing the BJP of double standards, Raj Thackeray said the BJP had approached the Supreme Court in similar instances in West Bengal, where ruling party candidates were chosen unopposed in local body polls, and asked the ruling party to clarify this issue.

The BJP hit back at Uddhav, reminding him that he had become chief minister in 2020 after becoming a member of the legislative council without contest.

"If he wants to comment on uncontested victories, he should resign as an MLC,” said BJP leader and minister Ashish Shelar.

The BJP has gone on the offensive following unopposed victories of 68 candidates from the Mahayuti, including 44 from the BJP, mainly due to the withdrawal of contestants from other parties or rebels.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, at a road show in Chandrapur, said the people's mandate would prevail even if opposition parties approach the court.

"They can certainly go to court, but the people's court has elected us. Even if they (opposition parties) move the court, people's mandate will prevail in court," Fadnavis said while questioning the Opposition's silence on unopposed wins of independents and Muslim candidates.

"It is because they can see their defeat clearly and are now trying to find excuses," said the chief minister.

Uddhav said that if the BMC's (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation'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, which is a "scam".

He alleged kickback money was being used for the civic polls.

Uddhav demanded the suspension of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, who has been accused of interfering in the nomination process and tampering with CCTV footage linked to the exercise.

"He is a Speaker. He doesn't belong to any party and has the responsibility to conduct work without any allegiance. He should be booked for violating the poll code," Uddhav said.

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

The Thackeray cousins suggested that the sons-of-the-soil issue would be one of the central themes of the elections, especially in their home turf of Mumbai.

Raj Thackeray said the mayor of Mumbai and other cities will be a Marathi individual, emphasising that the local language should be respected.

A total of 15,931 candidates are in the fray for 2869 seats spread across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. Except for Mumbai, which has 227 seats, the rest are multi-member wards.

Shelar, meanwhile, said Uddhav Thackeray became a member of the legislative council unopposed on May 14, 2020, after becoming chief minister.

"He did not complain about it. If he wants to comment on some candidates getting elected unopposed in the ongoing corporation elections, Thackeray should first resign as an MLC and then criticise,” he added.

Mumbai BJP president Ameet Satam alleged that Uddhav was responsible for corruption to the tune of Rs 3 lakh crore.

He further slammed Thackeray's recent jibe in which he had referred to him as “Chatam”, saying the comment was not a personal insult but an affront to every Marathi person.

In the 2017 elections for the 227-member BMC, the BJP made giant strides in the Shiv Sena citadel of Mumbai, winning 82 seats, just two seats behind the estranged saffron ally.

The Congress was relegated to the third position with 31 seats, whereas the NCP (undivided) and the MNS were reduced to 9 and 7 seats, respectively. AIMIM won three seats on its debut, Samajwadi Party six, the Akhil Bhartiya Sena one, and Independents four. PTI PR ND GK ARU BNM NR NSK