In what would intensify the Shiv Sena vs Shiv Sena (UBT) fight, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished a Shiv shakha (branch) of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party on Thursday in the afternoon, describing it as "illegal".
The shakha was situated in Bandra East's Nirmal Nagar neighbourhood.
This is a walking distance away from Matoshree, the Bandra bungalow of the Thackerays.
The move comes days after Thackeray announced a maha morcha on July 1 outside the BMC headquarters.
This announcement followed after the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government decided to form an SIT to probe into the alleged irregularities in the BMC during the tenure when Thackeray was the Chief Minister.
Notably, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in a special audit report has found alleged irregularities. On the other hand, the Enforcement Directorate is continuing its investigation into the alleged money laundering vis-a-vis Covid jumbo field hospitals.
Since the BMC does not have a general body now, it comes under the control of Shinde, who also holds the Urban development portfolio.
The five-year term of the BMC’s 227-member general body - elected in 2017 ended on March 7, 2022. The elections are due for more than a year, however, in between the Shiv Sena vertically split in June 2022. The BMC is being run by Municipal Commissioner Dr Iqbal Singh Chahal, who was appointed the Administrator.