Battle for Panvel: Shiv Sena chief, CM hold rallies in Navi Mumbai before May 24 civic poll

MUMBAI CITY NEWS The first-ever election of the PCMC, which was elevated from a council to a corporation last October by the state government, will be held on May 24.

The battle for Panvel City Municipal Corporation (PCMC) intensified on Sunday as chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray held rallies in Navi Mumbai for the corporation’s maiden election.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray at an election rally in Navi Mumbai on Sunday. (Bachchan Kumar)

Thackeray, whose party supported the ratification of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act in the state legislature, continued to attack the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In his speech at Kamothe, the Sena chief warned against the hazards of voting for its ally in the state government.

“If the lotus blooms in Panvel, then the city will turn into muck,” Thackeray said.

The first-ever election of the PCMC, which was elevated from a council to a corporation last October by the state government, will be held on May 24.

Thackeray slammed the BJP on issues ranging from farm loan waivers to tampering of electronic voting machines (EVMs). Thackeray said that he has come to Panvel to win the corporation and declared, “The saffron flag of Sena will flutter atop the PCMC.”

Despite the BJP keen on forming an alliance with the Sena for Panvel civic polls, the latter did not show any interest given the tough stand it has taken against its senior partner in the state government. In the last few days, Sena has resorted to no holds barred attack on BJP, especially Fadnavis’ pet projects — Jalyukt Shivar and Mumbai-Nagpur super expressway.

In his speech, Thackeray once again criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation. “Even after demonetisation, black money and [cross-border] attacks [on Indian soldiers] continue to happen,” he said. In his speech announcing demonetisation in November 2016, Modi had said that banning certain currency notes would curb black money and circulation of fake notes by terrorist outfits.

Fadnavis, who addressed a rally in Kharghar, said the BJP has kept every word it gave to the
people.

“What we promise, we implement. There was a longstanding demand for a municipal corporation; we fulfilled it. Who made Panvel toll-free?” he said. “You are going to make us victorious, but I have one request, give us full majority.”