Congress' Narayan Rane predicted his party will win 70-75 seats in civic body polls next year. (File)
Former Maharashtra chief minister and senior Congress leader Narayan Rane said his party will fight forthcoming civic body polls in Mumbai and Thane on the issues of "rampant corruption and misrule" even as he expressed hope to win 70-75 seats here.
Addressing his party workers yesterday Mr Rane came down heavily on Shiv Sena saying he will at an "appropriate" time "expose rampant corruption and misrule" of the party which "ruined" both the civic bodies.
"The government has not fulfilled its promise and hence citizens are waiting for the polls. Development has come to a grinding halt, the state is bankrupt, and the government has failed to do any work. People are annoyed with this dispensation," Mr Rane said.
"If you want development and good governance, vote us to power," he said.
Mr Rane predicted that the Congress would bag at least 70 to 75 seats in Thane civic polls. He also warned those who had left the party that they will end up on the losing side.
He claimed that not only has the "BJP wave" ended, but also that the "Congress wave was at its peak".
He also said that a committee led by him had recommended 16 per cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for the Maratha community. The inclusion of Marathas in the socially-and economically backward class, which forms the basis of the 16 per cent reservation, did not infringe on the claims of other communities. He said that the suggestions were based on the formula already existing in Tamil Nadu.
Shiv Sena controls the 130-member Thane Municipal Corporation with more than 58 and has 75 corporators.
10 municipal corporations including Mumbai, Thane, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi, Pune, Pimpari-Chinchwad, Solapur and Akola are going to polls in February next year.