Will CM Thackeray’s ill health impact the BMC elections 2022? Analysts interpret

Even though Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was freed from Mumbai's Sir H.N. Reliance hospital three weeks after undergoing cervical spine surgery, it would be some time before he returns to the field. The Chief Minister's departure has left a slew of issues awaiting his attention, including forcing the State Legislature's Winter Session to be convened in Mumbai rather than Nagpur, as is customary (in the Vidarbha region).

 

Mr. Thackeray is recovering from his illness, but the tripartite 'Maha Vikas Aghadi' (MVA) coalition government of the Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party, and the Congress confronts several obstacles. They range from pressing matters requiring Chief Minister's immediate attention, such as the long-running transport strike by employees of the cash-strapped Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), to important bureaucratic matters, such as appointing the successor to the Director-General of Police (DGP), who is set to retire soon.

 

The MSRTC strike, which began in late October and grew in intensity throughout November, has rendered the state's rural hinterland's transportation system useless. "With desperate staffers insisting on merging the MSRTC with the State government and a general loss of faith among MSRTC employees in the ruling government in particular and politics in general, it appears that the knot can only be cut by Mr. Thackeray. 

 

Apart from that, observers believe that Mr. Thackeray's health concerns would have a long-term impact on his party's fortunes in the upcoming civic polls for 10 major municipal corporations, which will be held in February 2022. The cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Pune, and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporations, as well as the politically important Nashik, Nagpur, and Solapur Corporations are among the civic bodies.

 

 

According to election observers, Chief Minister's recovery will make it difficult for him to campaign effectively for the municipal elections, which are just over two months away. Mr. Thackeray is without a doubt his party's most popular and successful spokesperson right now.

 

 

Image Courtesy: Twitter @CMOMaharashtra