According to party sources, while Prabhu — who is a legislator from Dindoshi — will make a comeback as the leader of the house replacing corporator Trushna Vishwasrao, Shewale has been asked to look into BMC affairs from the outside.
With its current crop of leaders failing, the Shiv Sena has decided to get back its old warhorses legislator Sunil Prabhu and MP Rahul Shewale in the BMC. The party has decided to get some reinforcements to take on an its alliance partner BJP ahead of the civic polls.
According to party sources, while Prabhu — who is a legislator from Dindoshi — will make a comeback as the leader of the house replacing corporator Trushna Vishwasrao, Shewale has been asked to look into BMC affairs from the outside.
Former mayor Prabhu will replace Vishwasrao in March when the terms of various civic committees ends. "The party leadership is not happy with the performance of those at the helm in the BMC. It only makes sense to bring back Prabhu in Vishwasrao's place. He has a lot of experience and a proven track record in the BMC. He is aggressive and can pull the strings in the BMC. If this is not done, the BJP will hijack everything," said a senior Sena leader.
Over the last year, the Sena has faced a series of setbacks in the BMC with the BJP scoring political brownie points far too frequently. At the same time, several of the Sena's pet projects and policies like roof-top restaurants and night-life have failed to take off. Despite being in power in the BMC, the party faced embarrassment as the BMC forced the removal of Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray backed open gymnasiums from Marine Drive.
Similarly, the BJP managed to outsmart the Sena by getting the open spaces policy reviewed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The Sena has also faced a lot of flak for the Rs150 crore de-silting scam and mayor Snehal Ambekar's 'confidential letter' to BMC chief Ajoy Mehta alleging corruption in road works.
While standing committee chairman Yashodhar Phanse is seen as too laid back, Vishwarao's performance has come under attack for being too mild. "There is nothing about us getting any posts. However, we (me and Rahul Shewale) will look into the BMC affairs and do the job entrusted to us by Uddhav and Aditya for Mumbai. We will deliver on the party's promise to the people. As corporators and Shiv Sainiks, that is our responsibility," Prabhu told dna.
Both Prabhu and Shewale continue to be corporators and both have made regular appearances in the BMC. Party sources said that Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had briefed the duo last week and asked them to hit the ground ahead of the BMC polls scheduled for February 2017.
Shewale was not available for comment.
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