BMC ward delimitation: Congress fears will hurt its chances, sees Sena hand

Patole, who last week attacked the NCP over its “betrayal” by striking a “behind-the-scene” deal with the BJP in a Zilla Parishad poll, lashed out at the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena on Wednesday over how the BMC ward delimitation was carried out and threatened to approach the judiciary for recourse. “Be it in Mumbai or Pune, if some parties of the MVA draft the ward structure as per their convenience, then we will certainly approach the court on the issue,” the Congress leader said.

Patole’s public outburst stems from a feeling in the party that it was short-changed and its opinion not taken into account while undertaking the exercise to redraw the boundaries of the civic body’s electoral wards. The general perception among most parties is that the delimitation was done to boost the prospects of Shiv Sena corporators.

Number of BMC wards increased

In February, the BMC, then controlled by the Shiv Sena, conducted the delimitation exercise and increased the number of electoral wards from 227 to 236 and changed the ward boundaries. Of the nine new wards, three each are in the island city, its western suburb, and the eastern suburb. As per the civic body’s document, in the city, the E ward (Byculla, Madanpura), F-south (Parel, Seweree), and G-south (Worli, Mahalaxmi) have a new ward each.

In the western suburb, one ward each has been added to R-north (Dahisar), R-south (Kandivali), and K-east (Andheri, Jogeshwari) while in the eastern suburb, L ward (Kurla), N ward (Ghatkopar, Vikhroli), and M-west (Chembur, Mahul) each have got a new ward. BMC officials said the new electoral wards were prepared as per the population ratio.

But the Congress fears that the delimitation will affect the electoral wards of its corporators. In the 2017 civic polls, the party had 31 corporators against the Sena’s 84 and 82 of the BJP. The tally was lower than the 52 corporators the party had five years earlier.

A senior Congress leader said, on the condition of anonymity, that of the 45 wards which had been seen their boundaries change, 17 belong to the party. With the delimitation, the Sena would cause long-term damage to the party, the functionary added. Several Congress leaders in Mumbai are unhappy that despite being part of the government the party has not been able to do enough to create a favourable ground for itself ahead of the BMC polls. “Nana speaks in the voice of a common Congressman,” said state Congress general secretary Zakir Ahmed.

South Mumbai Congress president Pramod Mandrekar told The Indian Express, “We are in a coalition government. When the reorganisation of wards was done, we should have been taken into confidence. Nana Patole is taking issues faced by Congressmen who are getting a stepmotherly treatment,” he added.

Despite this support for Patole from a section of the party, most Congress heavyweights have kept quiet on the issue as they are keen on ensuring the smooth functioning of the MVA government. Sources in the Congress said the party’s ministers do not like Patole’s barbs because repeated taunts and criticism could cause trouble in the ruling alliance.

Dismissing the allegations of those in the Congress who agree with Patole on the issue, Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande said, “I don’t think the Congress has much stake in Mumbai. They should have raised objections or made suggestions when the time was given.”