Thane, Jan 2 (PTI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said some parties play the ‘Marathi’ card only when polls are near whereas the Shiv Sena is working to bring back those Marathi-speaking persons who were “forced out” of Mumbai and adjoining areas due to the “opposition’s mismanagement”.
He also slammed the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) for “robbing Mumbai” and said the ruling Mahayuti is the “true guardians” of the metropolis and its adjoining cities.
“Some parties play the ‘Marathi’ card only when polls are near. We are working to bring Marathi people back to Mumbai. Mumbaikars and Marathi people were forced out of the city due to the opposition’s mismanagement,” Shinde said.
“We have initiated pothole-free roads, accelerated Metro projects, and completed the Coastal Road. Prime Minister’ Narendra Modi’s vision to make Mumbai a global fintech hub has already attracted massive investment to the state,” Shinde added.
He also slammed some parties for trying to create a “Marathi-Gujarati divide”, adding that Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray never indulged in this kind of politics.
A total of 19 Shiv Sena candidates have been elected unopposed ahead of the January 15 polls to 29 municipal corporations, including seven in Thane, six each in Kalyan-Dombivali and Jalgaon, Shinde said.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Friday staged a protest in Thane claiming voters were “grossly cheated” through unopposed victories “engineered by misuse of government machinery and money power”.
MNS Palghar-Thane president Avinash Jadhav alleged nomination papers of opposition candidates were “fraudulently rejected” with the help of the administrative machinery, paving the way for the Shiv Sena to get some of its candidates elected unopposed.
“The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance has secured 18 unopposed wins in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation. This has triggered anger and resentment among residents,” he said. PTI COR BNM
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