All eyes on Uddhav Thackeray as Dec 30 draws near

MUMBAI: Uddhav Thackeray’s recent assertion that he would speak on note recall only after December 30 is seen as a tactic by Shiv Sena to keep its powder dry before the vital Mumbai civic elections.

Sena and BJP leaders acknowledge that the note recall exercise would be used as a ‘bargaining tool’ by Sena after December 30. Thackeray had said a couple of days back that since Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given his word that demonetisation woes would be over by December 30, he would like to wait till then.

The date is significant because around the same time the two parties would begin their seat sharing talks for the Mumbai polls.


Till now, BJP and Sena have always fought Mumbai elections together. However, after its improved performance in the Lok Sabha and the assembly polls, BJP is expected to seek more seats.

BJP won 15 assembly seats in Mumbai and Sena 14. The BJP leadership were, till now, talking of a 50-50 seat-sharing in the 227-member civic body.

Also, BJP is on a high after emerging as the single largest party in Maharashtra in the just-concluded municipal polls, held just after demonetisation. Sena, however, believes these results don’t give the complete picture. “People probably voted for BJP believing the PM’s word that the shortage of notes would be solved by December 30,” said a Sena leader