Oppn continues demand for delimitation of four-member wards as civic polls loom

Time of India

06-05-2025

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Pune: Opposition parties are continuing to demand scrappage of the four-member wards system, even as the Supreme Court's latest directives have come as a welcome sign for their push to conduct long-awaited civic polls in the state.For years, parties currently in the opposition have dubbed the system of a panel with four members per ward unfair. They claim it is politically motivated and gives the upper hand to the parties that are ruling at present.Under this system, four members are present in each ward panel and the public votes for each.The system was first used by the then-BJP govt in 2017, and the party garnered a clear majority in the civic elections held that year.In 2022, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) govt, including the (then united) NCP, (then united) Shiv Sena and Congress had put the brakes on this system and pushed for a three-member ward system option instead.After regaining power in 2024, the BJP-led Mahayuti once more began the process to reintroduce a four-member system.On Tuesday, the SC directed for the conduct of civic polls based on the pre-2022 system, paving the way to hold elections with a four-member ward system.Opposition parties are protesting the same. "The four-member system gives no scope for competition. It increases the probability of victory for ruling parties. This system is not democratic, so it should be scrapped, and smaller wards should be introduced," said Ankush Kakade, state spokesperson of NCP (SP).According to the state election commission (SEC) data, no municipal corporations in Maharashtra have gone to polls since 2020. All are currently being administered by a municipal commissioner, who is also doubling up as an administrator.As many as 27 civic bodies, including Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), are being controlled by civic officials. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has the longest-serving administrator rule, starting in April 2020. The last municipal corporation to opt for this system was Dhule, where the administrator took over the functioning in Dec 2023.The tenure of the Pune (PMC) and Pimpri Chinchwad (PCMC) municipal corporations ended in March 2022. Since then, both have been under an administrator's rule.Senior Congress functionary Mohan Joshi said, "The SC ruling comes as a sigh of relief for people. State govt was avoiding conducting civic polls. The ruling parties wanted to keep the civic bodies in their control by avoiding elections. Even now, they want to take undue advantage with the four-member ward system."However, BJP members said the demand for a three-member ward system is outdated now. Some said the polls will be conducted as per the old system, and the opposition's claim that this move benefits ruling parties has no basis. "The apex court's ruling has given clear directives and polls will be held as per the system introduced in 2017. The opposition claims of an unfair system are futile. The BJP and its alliances succeeded in previous civic polls due to their policies and performance," said Ujwal Keskar, a senior BJP functionary.In Pimpri Chinchwad, delimitation of wards had become an important issue between BJP and the undivided Shiv Sena. During the previous MVA govt tenure, a draft proposed for holding elections to PCMC contained three-member wards, even as BJP was demanding to continue with the existing four-member wards at the time.Sachin Bhosale, city president of Shiv Sena (UBT) in Pimpri Chinchwad, said "Though we were demanding a three-member ward system earlier, considering that the Supreme Court has now directed EC to conduct civic polls in four months, it would not be possible to change the system completely. So, we are ready to face elections either way."(With inputs from Alim Shaikh)