Uddhav Thackeray undecided on fighting civic polls solo or with Maha Vikas Aghadi

Uddhav Thackeray, president, Shiv Sena (UBT) (right) Kishori Pednekar, Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson. File Pics

The Shiv Sena (UBT) is considering collecting reports from the ground level in all districts to gauge party workers' feelings about going solo for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election.

According to sources, party chief Uddhav Thackeray met with former Mumbai corporators recently. In the meeting, most former corporators demanded that the party contest the upcoming election alone. While Thackeray avoided the subject, sources claim the party is considering contesting the election without allies. "Instead of directly deciding on whether or not to contest the election solo, the party will look at reports from all districts to understand the view of local office-bearers on the subject," a source claimed.

Meanwhile, Kishori Pednekar, a Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson and former mayor, told mid-day that party leaders had not said anything about contesting the election solo. "But, yes, Shiv Sainiks feel we should contest the civic election without allies. It is too early to talk about this as no one knows when the election date will be declared. Shiv Sainiks feel we can go it alone because we often give several constituencies to allies where our candidates can win."

Meanwhile, an office-bearer of the party said that civic elections are different from other elections as in most wards, the fight tends to be between candidates. "Although a party is important, in several wards, voters choose a candidate, not a party. If we contest the poll with allies, we will get fewer wards to field candidates from," he added.

In the last Mumbai civic election, in 2017, the undivided Shiv Sena won 84 out of 227 seats while BJP won 82. The term of the BMC House ended on March 9, 2022, following which the state government appointed the municipal commission as the civic body's administrator. The election has been held up due to a case concerning OBC reservation and the delimitation of Mumbai wards, which is pending in the Supreme Court.

The next hearing is to be held in the last week of January 2025. Around 17 municipal corporations across the state have been waiting for an election for the past two to five years. The Navi Mumbai and Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation elections were to be held in 2020 but were put on hold due to the pandemic.