Mumbai, Jan 4 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday urged the State Election Commission to cancel results in 68 civic wards where ruling Mahayuti nominees were declared winners unopposed, saying uncontested victories effectively rob 'Gen Z' and first-time voters of their voting right.

Sharing the stage with MNS chief Raj Thackeray to unveil their joint manifesto for the upcoming polls to the Mumbai civic body, Uddhav warned that democracy must not be overrun by "mobocracy.” The former chief minister launched a scathing attack on the Mahayuti government, saying that since his government was dislodged and Eknath Shinde helmed the state (in June 2022), the wealth of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is being splurged on contractors.

He claimed that after vote-stealing, the ruling parties are now stealing candidates.

Accusing the BJP of double standards, Raj Thackeray said the BJP had approached the Supreme Court in similar instances in West Bengal, where ruling party candidates were chosen unopposed in local body polls, and asked the ruling party to clarify this issue.

Incidentally, the BJP has gone on the offensive on the issue of unopposed victories as 68 candidates from the Mahayuti, including 44 from the BJP, have won without contest in Maharashtra, mainly due to the withdrawal of contestants from other parties or rebels.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, at a road show in Chandrapur during the day, said the people's mandate would prevail even if opposition parties approach the court.

"They can certainly go to court, but the people's court has elected us. Even if they (opposition parties) move the court, people's mandate will prevail in court," Fadnavis said while questioning the Opposition's silence on unopposed wins of independents and Muslim candidates.

"It is because they can see their defeat clearly and are now trying to find excuses," said the chief minister.

Referring to the uncontested victories in the run-up to the January 15 elections to 29 civic bodies, Uddhav said, "If the SEC has courage, it should cancel elections where candidates were chosen unopposed and initiate the poll process again in those civic wards.” The unopposed election of candidates is akin to denying voters, especially the 'GenZ' electorate, the chance to exercise their franchise, he added.

Uddhav said that if the BMC's (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's) expenditure budget is Rs 15,000 crore, then the amount needed to give to contractors for different works in the form of advance mobilisation is Rs 3 lakh crore, which is a "scam".

He alleged kickback money was being used for the civic polls.

Uddhav demanded the suspension of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, who has been accused of interfering in the nomination process and tampering with CCTV footage linked to the exercise.

"He is a Speaker. He doesn't belong to any party and has the responsibility to conduct work without any allegiance. He should be booked for violating the poll code," Uddhav said.

Narwekar, a BJP MLA from Colaba in south Mumbai, has dismissed the charges as baseless and politically motivated.

The Thackeray cousins suggested that the sons-of-the-soil issue would be one of the central themes of the elections, especially in their home turf of Mumbai.

Raj Thackeray said the mayor of Mumbai and other cities will be a Marathi individual, emphasising that the local language should be respected.

In a warning to the ruling dispensation, he said power is not permanent and claimed the BJP was setting a wrong precedent.

The ruling party should not complain when its successors resort to such tactics in a more refined way, he stressed.

A total of 15,931 candidates are in the fray for 2869 seats spread across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. Except for Mumbai, which has 227 seats, the rest are multi-member wards.

Votes will be counted on January 16. PTI PR GK BNM SKL NSK