Shiv Sena (UBT) to fight civic polls solo: Uddhav realised breaking ties with BJP was blunder, says Bawankule

Maharashtra Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule at Shani Shinganapur Temple in Ahilyanagar district. Pic/X

The decision by Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) to contest the upcoming civic polls in Maharashtra independently is a result of the party's realisation that parting ways with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and aligning with the Congress in 2019 was a mistake, state minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said on Saturday.

Amid a blame game over the Maha Vikas Aghadi's defeat in the state assembly elections, key constituent Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) announced earlier in the day that it would fight the local elections solo.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut highlighted the lack of opportunities for workers within alliances and the need for organisational growth as key reasons for contesting independently, news agency PTI reported.

"The Shiv Sena (UBT) has realised its blunder of choosing the Congress over BJP and Devendra Fadnavis in 2019. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party has realised that the Congress' ideology cannot take it forward," Bawankule said.

Thackeray had ended the decades-long alliance with BJP after the 2019 assembly polls, accusing the latter of breaking a promise to share the chief ministerial post.

He subsequently formed an alliance with the Congress and then undivided Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and served as chief minister from 2019 to 2022.

The state BJP chief also mentioned that the Mahayuti will endeavour to encourage workers to contest the local body elections unitedly, PTI reported.

"If one party, or an alliance with a shared ideology, is in power from the Centre down to the panchayat level, then every paisa earmarked for development reaches the grassroots from Delhi," Bawankule added.

The BJP, the largest party in the Mahayuti, which also includes the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP, will not be arrogant and will seek to accommodate allies in the local polls, he stated.

Polls in several urban areas, including Mumbai, Thane, and Nagpur, have been pending since early 2022.

Regarding the state BJP's day-long convention on Sunday, Bawankule said that 15,000 delegates would attend, including 50 from each assembly constituency, PTI reported.

"The convention is being held to prepare the cadre so that the welfare schemes of the Union and state governments reach beneficiaries at the grassroots level. The convention will be historic," he said.

(With PTI inputs)