Mumbai: All party offices sealed at BMC HQ after face-off between Sena factions

The rival Shiv Sena factions led by Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde clashed over the party office at the Brihamumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters on Wednesday evening. Following the face-off between the two factions, the BMC administration sealed the offices of all political parties at the headquarters on Thursday, December 29, 2022. 

While talking to PTI, Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said that the civic body acted on Mumbai Police's orders following Wednesday's incident at the civic headquarters, which has offices of all major political parties on the ground floor of the heritage building. 

On Wednesday evening, rival Shiv Sena factions led by Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde faced off at the party's office at the BMC headquarters in south Mumbai. 

The spokesperson of the Shinde-led Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, Sheetal Mhatre, said that the civic administration had sealed the offices of the Shiv Sena, Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and Samajwadi Party at the civic headquarters. 

When a political activist arrived at their party office on the ground floor of the BMC headquarters on Thursday morning, they found it sealed.

According to the activist, our party office had been sealed before we arrived in the morning. "The administration has likely sealed the offices of all parties following the commotion at the Shiv Sena office last evening," the activist added. Chahal said that the action was taken following the police instructions. 

On Wednesday, the clash occured around 5:00 pm, when North Central Mumbai MP Rahul Shewale, former standing committee chairman Yashwant Jadhav, and former corporator Sheetal Mhatre, all members of the Shine-led Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, entered the party office. 

According to sources, former Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) corporators, including Ashish Chemburkar and Sachin Padwal, objected to their presence, leading to a heated exchange.

Nearly for an hour, party workers from both sides shouted slogans before the police arrived and asked them to leave the office. Contrary to some reports, both factions claimed there was no attempt by either side to stake a claim to the party office. 

The term of the Shiv Sena-controlled BMC's corporators expired in March this year, and elections are long overdue.

(With inputs from PTI)

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• BMC
• Brihamumbai Municipal Corporation
• Eknath Shinde
• Maharashtra
• Shiv Sena
• Uddhav Thackeray