Mumbai, Feb 9 (IANS) The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) on Monday said that with the conclusion of municipal elections and the appointment of new Mayors in several locations, the era of administrator-led governance has ended, making way for the rule of elected representatives. However, it claimed that the transition has been marred by allegations of “unethical power grab and erosion of democratic values”.

In a scathing attack on the BJP, the Thackeray camp in the party’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said the Bharatiya Janata Party is set to install Mayors in 10 out of 11 municipal corporations. “However, with the control over power, money, and the police force, the BJP acts as though it could install a Mayor anywhere — even on the Moon or Mars — and beat the drums of ‘Hindu-Marathi’ pride,” it said

The editorial said the way the BJP and its ilk desperately scramble and pour money into every election — from the Lok Sabha down to the Gram Panchayats — is staggering. “While Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis advises officials to practice austerity because the state treasury is empty, why does he not see the millions being squandered by the BJP and its allies in minor elections? These people have caused the complete downfall of Maharashtra’s political culture over the last few years. The mourning period for Ajit Pawar’s demise might end, but the mourning (dark cloud) over Maharashtra’s political culture shows no sign of ending,” it added.

“There are ‘absurd’ and ‘disposable’ people in Fadnavis’s cabinet who openly say, ‘I distribute funds based on the party and symbol; if it’s the ‘Mashaal’ symbol, I won’t give a single rupee’. Distributing funds from public taxes in an undemocratic manner is embezzlement of government money. Every elected representative has an equal right to government funds, but the BJP has turned culture into a gutter, and Devendra Fadnavis is sitting in that gutter with his feet dangling,” alleged the Thackeray camp.

According to the editorial, in Mumbai, the BJP selected Ritu Tawade as the Mayoral candidate, saying that this choice of a Marathi face was a strategic move forced by the Shiv Sena’s aggressive campaign on Marathi identity. Notably, Tawade immediately vowed to deport Bangladeshis from Mumbai. This stance has raised questions regarding Prime Minister Modi’s approval, especially as the national budget continues to provide significant financial aid to Bangladesh despite ongoing attacks on Hindu temples there. However, in Mira-Bhayandar, the BJP overlooked local demands for a Marathi representative and appointed a non-Marathi Mayor instead.

“The entire Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) unit in Kalyan-Dombivli reportedly aligned with the Shinde faction. In Nashik, MNS corporators also defected to the Shinde group.
Some candidates elected under the ‘Flaming Torch’ (Mashal) symbol have shamelessly joined the Shinde faction or moved to the BJP. The BJP and the Shinde faction have abandoned their ‘Hindutva’ ideology for power, citing attempts to form alliances with the AIMIM in Malegaon, though the effort ultimately failed,” claimed the editorial.

The Thackeray camp said that the defectors often justify these moves by claiming they need to be with the ruling party to secure “development funds” for their wards. However, it claimed these moves were hollow excuses for those seeking contracts and committee positions.

The editorial argued that it is a disturbing trend of “political termites” — representatives defecting before the ink on the election results is even dry.

The Thackeray camp, while maintaining the “civility” to congratulate the new Mayoral boards, has reiterated that the current political culture in Maharashtra has hit a new low, describing it as a “gutter” in which the “leadership is now comfortably wading”.

–IANS

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