Mumbai: Offices of all political parties sealed at BMC headquarters after face-off between Sena factions

Mumbai:Offices of all political parties located at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters have been sealed on Thursday in the wake of the row on Wednesday between the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thakeray) and the Eknath Shinde-led Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena over the occupation of the Sena office.

Police personnel were deployed in large numbers at the BMC headquarters to avoid further clashes.

The offices of other parties, including the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Samajwadi Party, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are located at the headquarters of the civic body.

All former corporators to sit at offices of their parties, says BMC Chief

All former corporators will have to sit at the offices of their parties, following the directive of sealing the offices at BMC by Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, who took a serious note of it. The term of the elected corporators had come to an end on March 7, 2022. Thereafter, the BMC commissioner had been appointed as the Administrator of the BMC. Mr Chahal had allowed all parties to use their party offices at the civic headquarters.

Slogans raised outside commissioner's cabin by former corporators

Former corporators of Shiv Sena (UBT), irked by the sealing of the office, reached the BMC office along with other party workers and asked the security personnel to open the office. They then moved towards the commissioner's cabin and held a demonstration there for more than two hours. The corporators raised slogans demanding to be allowed to use the office at the civic body’s headquarters. Those agitating outside the commissioner’s cabin included former Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, Shraddha Jadhav, Anil Kokil, Mangesh Satamkar, Raju Pednekar, Tukaram Patil, and Sachin Padwal.

“Almost a year has passed but the BMC elections have not been held. Our corporators are sitting in the party office to help citizens. When Mr Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister, he had directed that party offices should be kept open. However, the Shinde faction leaders did not like our work. Hence, they tried to take possession of the party office, but our workers send them back,” said member of Parliament Vinayak Raut.

Commissioner's decision opposed by parties

The BJP and the Congress have also opposed the commissioner’s decision to seal their offices.

“Where will we go to listen to the grievances of citizens. This office was convenient for the citizens to meet former corporators. The commissioner has done this as he doesn't want to know what is going on in the BMC under his leadership. We don't have any involvement in the quarrel between the two factions of Shiv Sena,” said Ravi Raja, opposition leader in BMC and a Congress corporator.