BMC Election: I See A Mid-Term Poll Ahead, Uddhav Thackeray To NDTV

Uddhav Thackeray has a premonition: “I see a mid-term election happening, the people seem ready.” The presage is not derived from the astrologers that politicians regularly draw on.

As the leader of one of the two parties in Maharashtra’s coalition government, Mr Thackeray should know. But he’s also playing a little coy. “We will decide on withdrawing support (to the government) after the BMC election,” he told NDTV today.

For the first time ever, his party, the Shiv Sena, is competing against the BJP for control of Mumbai’s municipal corporation, which runs on 37,000 crores a year, making it the richest of its kind in Asia. For 20 years, the Sena has led the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) with four back-to-back terms. The election is on the 21st of this month. “Mumbai is our bastion,” Mr Thackeray said today, “I will not tolerate any slurs against it. Say what you like about me, but not our city.”