Why Mumbai civic polls have been delayed and the road ahead
The last BMC elections were held in 2017 and the city is being run by an administrator since 2022
by Suchitra Karthikeyan · The HinduThe story so far: Newly sworn-in Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has affirmed that the ruling coalition Mahayuti will contest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls together. In a series of TV interviews, Mr. Fadnavis, on Friday (December 6, 2024), assured that his government would seek an early hearing to get the stay on OBC quota in polls lifted so that (civic) elections could be held at the earliest.
It is the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) which is tasked with conducting the polls but is yet to announce dates. “There are several cases in the Supreme Court moved by petitioners on delimitation of wards, OBC (Other Backward Classes) quota in civic body polls to name a few. Till orders are pronounced, nothing can proceed,” a Maharashtra SEC official informed The Hindu.
Why have civic polls been delayed?
Two of the main issues delaying civic polls across the State are the OBC quota issue and the delimitation of Mumbai wards. On July 21, 2022, the Supreme Court had allowed reservation upto 27% for OBC in nagar panchayat, nagar parishad and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, accepting the State commission’s report. However, it clarified that the SEC must not re-notify the election programme in 367 local bodies, which included the BMC, to provide reservation.
On July 22, SEC reclassified wards in BMC, stating that of the total 236 seats, 156 were reserved for general category, 15 for Scheduled Castes (SC), two for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 63 for OBC category. An irked SC warned the SEC to not renotify the election programme and ordered status quo in OBC reservations in local body elections. The case is still pending in the SC.
The other issue is the redrawing of BMC wards due to the Uddhav Thackeray government’s decision to increase seats from 227 to 236. This kicked off the redrawing of wards in Mumbai by the SEC in February 2022. After the split of Shiv Sena, the subsequent Eknath Shinde government withdrew this order in August 2022 and in April 2023, the Bombay High Court upheld this order. Challenges to this order are also pending in the Supreme Court.
Currently, Maharashtra has no State election commissioner as Mr. Urvinder Pal Singh Madan’s term expired in October this year.
Explaining the road ahead for civic polls in the state, Mr. J S Saharia, former Maharashtra State Election commissioner says, “The governor has to appoint a new State election commissioner, generally, with the advice of the Cabinet. If in his wisdom, he (new State election commissioner) believes elections can be held in the present scenario, then they can proceed. Otherwise he can decide to go to Supreme Court directly to get clarity and then decide how to proceed.”
Talking about the delay in polls, he adds, “It is matter of grave concern. I am of the view that elections should be held at the earliest. The main reason why the 73rd and 74th amendment of the Constitution was needed was unwillingness of State governments to hold elections on time.”
The 73rd and 74th amendments passed by Parliament in 1992 established rural and local bodies of government which are chosen directly by citizens and State election commissions to hold elections to these bodies. Each Panchayat or urban civic body has a term of five years, one-third seats are reserved for women, a number proportional to the SC/ST population in the State is reserved for these communities while OBC reservation can be provided if States find it necessary. The State election commission is an autonomous body and the commissioner is an independent officer, not under the control of Election Commission of India.
“The EC has to conduct elections before expiry, but the State election commission has taken a studied decision not to hold the elections in view of the Supreme Court’s orders. It is a question of interpretation by their advocates,” says Mr. Saharia when asked about the SEC’s stance in this issue. When asked if elections can be held without the OBC quota imposed in local body polls, Mr. Saharia says, “State Election commission is independent of State government but must work subject to Supreme Court orders and this is their interpretation.”
Effect of the Maharashtra poll verdict
The Mahayuti was awarded a massive mandate in the State elections with the coalition winning 230 seats (BJP - 132, Shiv Sena – 57 and NCP – 41) and Mr. Fadnavis has expressed his inclination to hold BMC polls at the earliest. “It is a matter of good governance, and the new government will take these elections very seriously. Now that they have the mandate, they will see to it that it will continue in the BMC elections,” says Dr. Mridul Nile, Associate Professor in Political Science, Mumbai University.
He adds, “In Maharashtra, for the past two and half years, municipal corporations are not formed yet on the pretext that the OBC issue is still pending. This matter can be addressed separately without hampering the mandate of holding civic elections once in every five years. A mix of constitutional, political and administrative reasons are there (to hold polls).” He concludes that though the OBCs have clearly sided with the BJP, they will not conduct elections without the quota (27% reservation in local bodies for OBCs).
Another political snag adding to the BJP’s woes is the Maratha reservation issue. Mr. Manoj Jarange-Patil, who is spearheading the Maratha agitation, has sought inclusion of all Maratha communities in the OBC category so as to avail reservation. The Maharashtra government’s law classifying Marathas as a socially and educationally backward class (SEBC) and awarding them 12-13% reservation in education and government jobs has been struck down as unconstitutional. Current OBC communities such as Dhangars have opposed Mr. Jarange-Patil’s demand, fearing dilution of the quota.
Stuck between two warring classes, the Mahayuti government has sought a review of the Supreme Court’s order and assured both parties that it will provide the required reservation. Hence, in all 27 urban local bodies across Maharashtra, State-appointed administrators are running the civic bodies, as the five-year terms of all these local bodies were over by the end of 2023.
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The lack of an elected body governing Mumbai has not affected young citizens, observes Dr. Ajinkya Gaikwad, Assistant Professor of Politics, SIES College of Arts, Science and Commerce. “When I talk to 18-25 year-old students, they are quite okay with the city being run by an administrator as the relevance of the local government is lost. The kind of citizen participation, with the NGOs taking over the space of community has taken away the charm of a lively BMC which Mumbai used to,” says Dr. Gaikwad.
Observing the lack of public pressure on the government to hold BMC elections, he adds, “I’m surprised there were no movements. The city, which boasted of a robust civic culture is now falling into an administrative trap where citizens only care about a few services which can be given by any administrator. While the party vying for power understands the importance of civic governments, citizens of Mumbai who were very politically vibrant have become apathetic.”
In the last BMC elections in 2017, Shiv Sena, which has controlled the city’s civic body since 1985 was nearly dethroned by the BJP. The undivided Sena won 84 seats while BJP bagged 82 seats. Due to neither party winning an outright majority in the 227-seat corporation, they had to strike an uneasy bargain, with BJP allowing Sena to retain the mayor’s post. However, since the disintegration of the original coalition and the split in the Shiv Sena, BJP is aiming to finally break through Sena’s power centre and install Mumbai’s first BJP mayor.
Published - December 11, 2024 12:58 pm IST