Mumbai, Oct 24 (IANS) Amid the ongoing campaign by opposition parties against alleged vote rigging in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena-UBT has convened a meeting of party office bearers on October 27 at Worli to review preparations and prepare a strategy for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls.

Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray will address the meeting, during which he is expected to provide tips on how to carefully examine the electoral rolls and maintain a close vigil to avoid “bogus voting” in the upcoming BMC elections.

Terming the meeting ‘Nirdhar’ (resolve) to win the BMC election, Thackeray is also likely to announce the much-debated alliance with his cousin Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in the BMC elections in a serious bid to checkmate the BJP-led Mahayuti.

Thackeray camp sources said, “The October 27 meeting is important and will be attended by the party office bearers and shakha pramukhs across Mumbai. Uddhav Thackeray will guide the office bearers regarding the strategy for the upcoming BMC elections with a strong message that they should remain alert to avoid scams in the electoral rolls.”

The meeting is also crucial as the bonhomie between the estranged brothers Uddhav and Raj Thackeray is increasing since they joined hands together to oppose the Maharashtra government’s move to introduce Hindi as a compulsory language along with Marathi and Hindi from grade one. They held a victory rally on July 5 after the state government withdrew two government resolutions on “imposition” of Hindi.

The duo declared that they had come together after almost 20 years to stay together in future, also hinting at the tie-up in the BMC elections.

Since July 5, both cousins have met 10 times but have not yet made any formal announcements about the alliance for the BMC elections.

Uddhav Thackeray’s move to interact with office bearers and shakha Pramukhs is also relevant as Raj Thackeray, on October 19, addressed the meeting of booth-level agents of the MNS, exhorting them to keep an eye on the electoral rolls and curb “bogus voting”.

Raj Thackeray alleged that 96 lakh bogus voters have been added to Maharashtra’s voters’ list by the Election Commission.

He asked the poll panel to postpone the local and civic body elections till the “purification” of electoral rolls was done to the satisfaction of all political parties.

Raj Thackeray alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also accused the Election Commission of bias. He said, “When the BJP was in the opposition, it used to make the same charges against the Election Commission.”

Further, Thackeray camp’s meeting slated for October 27 coincides with Congress legislator Bhai Jagtap’s announcement that the party would go solo in the BMC elections as it does not want to ally with Uddhav Thackeray-led party and MNS.

Similarly, the Samajwadi Party has also declared its intention to fight the BMC elections independently. Cracks have surfaced within the Maha Vikas Aghadi due to announcements by Congress and MNS.

–IANS

sj/svn