Allegations of ‘treason’ regarding tickets, demonstration of Shiv Sainiks angry with Uddhav Thackeray outside Matoshree

As the excitement of Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections increases, ‘Matoshree’, considered the most important venue of Maharashtra politics, has once again come into the center of discussion. But this time the reason is not any election strategy or alliance, but the anger and open resentment growing within the party. The situation that developed outside the residence of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday made public the internal problems of the party. Angered by the ticket distribution, Shiv Sainiks protested fiercely and directly raised questions on the leadership.

The method of ticket distribution became the root of controversy

The party leadership was already on alert amid talks of a possible alliance between Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray’s MNS (MNS) regarding the BMC elections. Seeing the fear of rebellion, this time instead of making the list of candidates public, Uddhav Thackeray decided to quietly call the selected people to Matoshree and hand over AB Form.

By Monday evening, forms had been given to about 125 candidates. The party hoped that this secret process would not bring out dissatisfaction, but the very next day this strategy backfired.

Ward 202 became the center of protest

Groups of angry workers started reaching Matoshree from Tuesday morning itself. The maximum opposition was seen in ward number 202, from where former mayor Shraddha Jadhav has once again been given the ticket. Local Shiv Sainiks allege that there was an atmosphere against them in the area and the survey reports were also not favourable. Despite this, his getting the ticket caused huge resentment among the grassroots workers.

"Are we just there to plant flags?"

A branch chief associated with the party for nearly three decades angrily expressed his pain. He said that he has been working hard for the party for years, but tickets are always given to influential people. He raised the question that if members of the same family take tickets again and again, then what importance will there be left for the common workers. His allegation was that the candidate concerned neither fulfills the responsibilities of the branch nor keeps in touch with the workers.

The pain of women workers spilled over

During the uproar, the words of a poor woman Shiv Sainik made the atmosphere more emotional. She alleged that in the last election, she had purchased sarees with her own money to distribute to women, the payment for which has not been made till date. The woman told that she had bought the sarees by mortgaging the jewelery and till now she has not received around Rs 3 lakh. He said that the hard work is done by the workers, but only those who have access to the top always reap the benefits.

The leadership is now accused of ‘treason’

After the split of Shiv Sena, Uddhav Thackeray and Aditya Thackeray have been continuously calling the Shinde faction as ‘traitors’. But now the same words have started rising from within the party. The workers standing outside Matoshree openly said that they had been betrayed in the ticket distribution. According to him, preference is being given to influence rather than loyalty and hard work.

BMC elections are not just being considered a local election for Uddhav Thackeray, but a battle of political credibility. At such a time, this dissatisfaction arising from the party house can become a serious challenge for the leadership. The open anger of the workers is indicating that if the anger is not handled in time, it may affect the election performance also.