Mumbai

 
The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Thursday accused the BJP-led Maharashtra government of taking politically motivated decisions ahead of local and civic body elections. It also criticised the State Election Commission (SEC) for announcing polls to 246 nagar parishads and 42 nagar panchayats without fixing errors in the voter list.

In a sharp editorial in its party mouthpiece Saamana, the Thackeray-led faction said the government “talks big but fails in action.” It alleged that the administration became “suddenly active” just before the model code of conduct came into force, passing 21 cabinet decisions and issuing 220 government resolutions in one day.

The editorial said the state failed to provide timely relief to 68 lakh rain-hit farmers struggling during Diwali. It claimed the government ignored repeated appeals from opposition parties to correct voter list errors and instead “imposed” elections on people. “Only a few districts have completed crop damage assessments. This is their idea of efficiency,” it added.

The government disbursed large funds to civic bodies and approved new schemes to gain political mileage. It alleged that funds worth several thousand crores were released for agriculture and development projects to woo voters before polls.

The editorial also criticised Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for warning contractors over project delays, questioning why works weren’t completed earlier. “Who is responsible for unpaid dues and contractor suicides?” it asked.

Concluding its remarks, Saamana said the government’s recent decisions showed political opportunism, not good governance, and were aimed at securing dominance in the upcoming local body elections being held after three and a half years.