Will come to BMC again after Sena mayor elected: Uddhav Thackeray

“I have come at a time when the five-year term is coming to an end. I will come again in March after the Sena elects its new mayor,” said Uddhav, as Sena activists raised slogans welcoming his statements.

Taking an indirect dig at Fadnavis, Uddhav said both leaders had inaugurated several projects in the recent past. “You have also appreciated the BMC’s work. The BJP worked with us shoulder-to-shoulder, which has helped to make it possible. It would not have been possible without the BJP’s support. So, I want to thank the BJP for its valuable support in the past five years,” he said.

The BJP has over the recent months accused the Shiv Sena of corruption in the BMC. “The civic chief has brought a lot of transparency in functioning…The BMC is the cleanest and the most transparent civic body in the country,” Uddhav added. Last week, Fadnavis, at a rally in Kandivli, had remarked that despite the BMC’s huge budget, the city had not developed well. He had also talked about eradicating corruption from the BMC.

Uddhav hit out at BJP leaders repeatedly alleging corruption in the civic body. However, Fadnavis did not respond to the barbs, preferring to speak on the work of Prabodhankar Thackeray. “He was a great social reformer and worked hard to fight casteism and superstition. He brought changes in the society,” said Fadnavis, who also read out Prabodhankar Thackeray’s last speech and the Thackeray family’s history about social work.

“The online system will help improve Mumbai’s ranking in the World Bank report. Besides, it will also bring transparency in functioning,” the CM added.