Uddhav Sena alleges political interference in prabhag formation at CSMC

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

For the upcoming general elections of the municipal corporation, the administration has completed the rough draft of prabhags, based on the structure of one prabhag consisting of four electoral wards. While the administration is currently awaiting the state government’s directive on the reservation percentages for SC and ST categories, Uddhav Sena has alleged that political interference has taken place in the process of rough draft of prabhags.

According to Uddhav Sena, this process involved political influence. They argue that the state government appointed officers to carry out this task, but it should have been done under the jurisdiction of the State Election Commission. The Thackeray faction has sent a letter to the State Election Commissioner, urging that the prabhag formation process be conducted in line with the Supreme Court’s directives.

Work done transparently as per government decision

Municipal Corporation sources have said that the state government had, in 2022, decided to intervene in the prabhag formation process, instead of the Election Commission. Accordingly, the current draft prabhag formation has been carried out in a transparent manner, following that decision.

Supreme Court order must be followed

In its orders dated May 4 and July 20, 2022, the Supreme Court had instructed that prabhag formation for local self-governing bodies should be carried out by the Election Commission, and not by the state government or under political influence. A petition had also been filed earlier in the Supreme Court regarding political interference. The Thackeray group has demanded that, in light of the court’s directives, the Election Commission should instruct the municipal body to ensure that the ward formation process remains free from political bias, which could otherwise be manipulated for convenience, said the Mahanagar Pramukh (Thackeray Group) Raju Vaidya.

Deadline for proposal submission: August 5

As per the revised government order, a timeline has been provided for the various tasks related to the draft prabhag formation. The proposal must be submitted to the Urban Development Department between August 1 and August 5. However, the reservation details must be finalised and included in the proposal before submission.

Last municipal elections held in 2015

The last municipal corporation elections were held in 2015. A year later, by-elections were conducted in Satara and Deolai wards. Elections were held across 116 wards at that time. The 2020 general elections were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The administrator-led governance of the municipal corporation completed five years in April 2025.

Party-wise seat distribution (as of 2020)

BJP - 24

Shiv Sena – 29

AIMIM – 25

Congress – 10

NCP – 4

BSP - 5

RPI (D) - 2 and

Ind - 17