Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray jointly unveiled their manifesto, ‘Vachan Nama’ (ANI image)
NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Sunday jointly unveiled their manifesto, ‘Vachan Nama’, for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections scheduled for January 15. This marks a major step in their renewed political alliance.The manifesto was released at a joint press conference at Shiv Sena Bhawan in Mumbai, a venue Raj Thackeray returned to after nearly two decades. The cover of the manifesto prominently features the Thackeray cousins along with Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.Speaking after the release, Uddhav Thackeray asserted that “Mumbai’s mayor will be a Marathi”. The similar sentiment was also echoed by Raj Thackeray, who said that the mayor of Mumbai and other cities in Maharashtra must be Marathi and that the Marathi language must be respected. The Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance promised a range of civic reforms, including affordable housing and stronger infrastructure in healthcare, public transport and education. Under the manifesto, women working as domestic help and Koli women will receive a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 through the proposed Swabhiman Nidhi scheme. The alliance also pledged to reduce the minimum bus fare from Rs 10 to Rs 5, add more buses and routes, scrap property tax on homes up to 700 square fee and ensure one parking space per flat in redeveloped buildings. Both leaders strongly attacked the BJP-led Mahayuti government over candidates winning civic seats unopposed. Uddhav Thackeray demanded that elections in such wards be cancelled and the polling process restarted, alleging that voters were being denied their democratic rights. He claimed that democracy was being undermined. “The atmosphere in the country is like democracy has been taken over by mobocracy,” Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said.Accusing the ruling parties of manipulating the electoral process, Uddhav alleged that after “vote-stealing”, they had now begun “stealing candidates”. The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader further urged the State Election Commission to cancel polls in such wards and restart the election process.”If the SEC has courage, it should cancel elections where candidates were chosen unopposed, initiate poll process again in those wards,” Uddhav said. The former Maharashtra chief minister also alleged large-scale corruption in the functioning of the BMC since his government was removed in 2022. He claimed that while the civic body’s annual expenditure is around Rs 15,000 crore, advance mobilisation payments to contractors amount to nearly Rs 3 lakh crore, calling it a massive scam whose proceeds were allegedly being used to influence elections.Uddhav Thackeray further targeted Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, accusing him of threatening candidates and voters and interfering in the nomination process. He demanded Narwekar’s immediate suspension, alleging violations of the model code of conduct and tampering with CCTV footage linked to the filing of nominations. Narwekar has dismissed the allegations as politically motivated.Raj Thackeray warned the ruling party that power is not permanent and accused the BJP of setting dangerous precedents. He questioned the party’s silence over unopposed victories in Maharashtra, recalling that it had earlier approached the Supreme Court over similar issues in West Bengal.The Maharashtra State Election Commission has sought a detailed report from the BMC chief following complaints that nomination forms were rejected in certain Colaba wards, where relatives of Speaker Narwekar are contesting.Polling for 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, will be held on January 15, with counting scheduled for January 16. Elections will be held for 2,869 seats across 893 wards, with Mumbai accounting for 227 seats.Seat-sharing between Shiv Sena (UBT) and the MNS for the BMC polls has been formally finalised. Under the arrangement, Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest 145 to 150 seats, the MNS 65 to 70 seats, while 10 to 12 seats have been allocated to the NCP. Go to Source
