Thackerays outshine Pawars in Maharashtra civic polls

By Abhay Vaidya Contrary to popular projections,  Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray and his son Uddhav have done far better than Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajitdada in the fiercely contested 2012 elections to the 10 municipal corporations in Maharashtra. While the Thackerays won a critical battle for political survival by retaining control over the Mumbai and Thane municipal corporations, their estranged relative and MNS-founder Raj Thackeray improved his party’s performance substantially in the Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nashik municipal corporations — as expected. From single digit seats in the 2007 civic polls in Mumbai, Thane and Pune, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena secured robust, double-digit numbers in all the four civic bodies. For the Shiv Sena-led alliance with the BJP and the RPI, the Thane and Mumbai results will serve as an endorsement of the leadership of the party’s executive president Uddhav Thackeray who had come under sharp attack from cousin Raj, the Pawars and the Congress. What was also pitted against Uddhav and the Shiv Sena was the general criticism over the poor state of the roads and other basic infrastructure in Mumbai. [caption id=“attachment_217156” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Shiv Sena workers celebrate in Mumbai. PTI”] [/caption] In sharp contrast to the success of the Thackerays, Sharad Pawar and his nephew, Ajitdada had to eat humble pie as they failed to secure a majority in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) despite their best efforts. The NCP in Pune had not only rejected an alliance with the Congress but had also targeted the suspended Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi over his involvement in the Commonwealth Games scam in Delhi. Promising speedy development, including the metro rail “in five years”, the Pawars had appealed for a majority in Pune. Their strategy clearly did not work with Pune voters. The performance of the Congress-NCP alliance in the BMC polls was also disappointing as compared to the 2007 elections and this will reflect poorly on Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. As against 85 seats in the 2007 polls (Congress-71, NCP-14), the alliance secured 67 seats in the 2012 polls. It was the MNS which jumped appreciably from just 7 seats in 2007 to 27 in the latest polls. Although the NCP was all set to emerge as the single-largest party in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), it failed to get a full majority and keep the Congress out of power in the Rs 3,000 crore civic body. In a virtual snub to the Pawars, the city Congress, which is under the influence of Suresh Kalmadi, succeeded in asserting itself in Pune as expected. The NCP also suffered a loss of face as Pune Mayor Mohansingh Rajpal, former standing committee chief Nilesh Nikam and the influential Bopodi corporator Srikant Patil were among those who lost their seats. While Rajpal and Nikam lost their seats to the BJP, Patil was defeated by the MNS city chief, Prakash Dhore. The saving grace for the NCP was its majority in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation - as in the previous two terms. Although the Shiv Sena and the MNS have emerged as the biggest gainers in these polls, the status quo stands maintained in the political leadership of the most prominent civic bodies in Maharashtra. No drastic change can be expected from the civic establishment in terms of policies and programmes. As in the previous term, it is the Sena alliance that will lead in Mumbai and Thane, whereas the NCP-led post-poll alliance with the Congress will rule in Pune and the NCP alone in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.