FOR UDDHAV, IT'S MUMBAI MERI JAAN

A visible revamp of Shiv Sena stronghold Mumbai, decentralising power and making government accessible to the people top the Maharashtra chief minister’s governance agenda

- Kiran D. Tare

A fortnight after he took charge as Maharashtra chief minister on November 28 last year, Uddhav Thackeray told bureaucrats at a meeting in Mantralaya, the administrative headquarters of the state government, that he wanted to rid Mumbai of “visual pollution”. As bureaucrats looked on, he explained that he abhorred the unplanned construction, poorly maintained structures and filth in the city, and wanted to spruce up Mumbai.

Two months into office, as Thackeray begins to get a grip on the administration and outlines his vision for Maharashtra, a few things are clear: a revamp of Mumbai, stronghold of the Shiv Sena, will receive his special attention. The new chief minister is also keen to be seen as an accessible administrator.

Political observers were puzzled when Thackeray agreed to give his allies, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress, the most plum portfolios. The Sena has direct control over only two major portfolios—urban development and agriculture. The rest, including home, finance, public works, revenue, power, water resources, education, health and tribal development, are with the allies.

A Sena insider says Thackeray’s priority is to strengthen the party in Mumbai. In the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections due in February 2022, he wants the party to win over a hundred out of the 227 seats. With an annual budget of around Rs 25,000 crore, the BMC is the richest civic body in Asia. “Two years may seem like a long period, but we want to focus on the BMC election from now,” says the insider.