IT dept raids Shiv Sena corporator Yashwant Jadhav's Mumbai premises amid MVA-BJP faceoff

Cracking down on Shiv Sena, Income Tax department searched the premises of BMC Standing Committee chairperson Yashwant Jadhav on Friday. The raids come days after Enforcement Directorate arrested NCP minister Nawab Malik in connection to an alleged land deal with aides of gangster Dawood Ibrahim. Asia's richest civic body - BMC - ruled by the Shiv Sena - is up for polls this year.

I-T dept searches premises of BMC Standing committee chief

Recently, BMC issued a notice to a bungalow owned by Union minister Narayan Rane to verify complaints of illegal constructions. A BMC team visited the spot, but returned without any action as no one from the Rane family was present at the bungalow. In retaliation, Rane claimed, "I have learnt that Enforcement Directorate department's notice is ready for four persons in Matoshree".

The ex-saffron allies BJP and Shiv Sena are locked in a battle with Sena claiming that  BJP was using central agencies against Maharashtra's ruling coalition in a bid to 'pressurize them to bow down'. With the arrest of Malik, Sena and NCP have alleged that NCP chief Sharad Pawar's family members and the Thackeray family are being hounded by central agencies. Sena, Congress and NCP are planning to jointly fight the BMC polls, while BJP has asserted that it will fight solo,

BMC polls

In 2017, Shiv Sena won 84 seats, BJP won 82 seats, while NCP won 6 seats and Congress won 30 seats. Allowing Shiv Sena to retain control, BJP supported Sena, but later pulled out support after the allies fell out at a state-level in 2019 over CM post and cabinet distribution. With Congress and NCP giving support to Sena, it won both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor polls in Mumbai Mayor polls - electing Kishori Pednekar and Suhas Wadkar. However, Congress and NCP refused to step down as the Opposition and BJP refused to leave the Standing Committee - working as a part of the Corporation.

Later, Jadhav - who heads the BMC - disqualified BJP-nominated corporator Bhalchandra Shirsat as a member of the panel. With the proposal backed by the opposition (Congress and NCP), Shirsat was removed as a member. While he challenged his disqualification in Bombay High Court and was given interim relief, BMC ratified the Standing Committee’s decision to sack him. Shiv Sena has controlled the BMC  since 1985.