All the newly elected councillors of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) were virtually locked up in the party office at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters on Friday morning, in an attempt to prevent them from participating in the ongoing election process for the post of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
The absence of MNS councillors enabled a smooth and swift victory for the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominated candidates in the BMC.
For the post of Mayor, Mahayuti candidate and Shiv Sena councillor Sunil Prabhu mustered 125 votes, whike his opponent, Congress councillor Sunil More, got only 65 votes. For the post of Deputy Mayor, Mahayuti candidate and BJP councillor Mohan Mithbavkar got 122 votes, while his opponent Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) councillor got only 65. Consequently, Consequently Prabhu was declared Mayor and Mithbavkar Deputy Mayor of the civic body.
Requesting anonymity, an MNS party worker said, “We have orders from Chief (MNS Chief Raj Thackeray) to lock up all the newly elected councillor and not to let them go into the Corporation hall (where the election of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor was happening)” When asked why they were restricted from participating in the election, he said, “In our party (MNS), there are orders, no cross questions. We have to follow.”
All the newly elected candidates were present in the BMC corporation hall, except the 28 MNS candidates who remained absent for the elections. They were allowed to come into the Corporation hall just for the purpose of marking them as present, and that too only after the elections were over.
MNS Chief Raj Thackeray had made strong speeches against the Shiv Sena and Shiv Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray. It would not be wrong to say, in every speech Raj Thackeray made Uddhav Thackeary his soft target to win applause from his people.
However, after the elections, the picture seemed exactly the opposite. This week earlier, on the directions of Raj Thackeray, his party councillors supported the Sena councillor in the formation of Corporation and Mayor in the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC). More or less, the same pattern is noticed in the BMC as the MNS remain absent during the election.
Political analysts believe that it is a hidden alliance between the MNS and the SS. The MNS has helped the SS in the TMC and BMC. In return, the Sena will help the MNS in tNashik, for form ation of the corporation as well as installing an MNS Mayor.