The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) – comprising Shiv Sena (UBT), the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), and the Congress – will fight the upcoming municipal elections in Maharashtra as a cohesive alliance, senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut confirmed on Wednesday. His remarks come days after the Supreme Court directed the Maharashtra government to hold civic body elections within four months.

Speaking to reporters in Nashik, Raut said, “There is no doubt, we will contest maximum seats together as MVA. Discussions between Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, and Congress state president Harshavardhan Sapkal are going smoothly. Except for one or two municipal corporations, we have no objection to fighting as a single bloc in all others,” Raut was quoted as saying by Saamana.

The Supreme Court’s order is expected to end the prolonged limbo for civic elections in Maharashtra, with over two dozen municipal corporations – including Mumbai, Thane, Pune, and Nagpur – currently being run by bureaucrats due to delayed polls. Raut alleged that the ruling state government misused this vacuum. “Let them show even one significant achievement by any administrator in these cities. All they’ve done is open new windows for corruption,” he claimed.

Taking a swipe at the Mahayuti coalition – led by BJP, CM Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction, and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s NCP group – Raut ridiculed their functioning. “Eknath Shinde had once said running a three-party government is like a difficult delivery. Well, when a normal delivery isn’t possible, you call in specialists. Have they done that? Or are they still consulting Donald Trump?” he quipped. “Two of their alliance partners have never had a normal delivery – politically speaking, they are sterile.”

He also hit out at the BJP for appropriating others’ achievements. “They like playing with someone else’s children and then claiming them as their own. Maybe they should try a test-tube baby this time and see if that works,” he said sarcastically.

Raut further stressed that democracy in Maharashtra has been sidelined. “Administrative rule is no substitute for elected leadership. People’s voices must be heard, and power must return to public representatives. The Supreme Court has spoken – now the government must obey,” he asserted.

Calling out the alleged delay in election notifications, he hinted at the role of electronic voting machines (EVMs). “We are ready for elections. The delay is only from their side. Once their EVMs are ‘ready’, the announcement will follow,” he said.