Congress accuses BJP-Shinde Sena of corruption, fund misuse, civic collapse and deliberate neglect in Mumbai.
₹5,000+ crore misappropriated, poor monsoon preparedness, health & environmental failures, political interference in administration.
Immediate BMC elections, end to administrator rule, and CBI probe into the allegations.
The Maharashtra Congress launched a blistering attack on the BJP-Shinde Sena administration of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), releasing a 10-point "chargesheet" that accuses the ruling combine of rampant corruption, financial mismanagement, administrative paralysis and deliberate neglect of Mumbai's civic infrastructure. The document was unveiled at a press conference in Mumbai by state Congress president Nana Patole, Leader of Opposition in Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar, and former minister and Mumbai unit chief Varsha Gaikwad.
The Congress' "BMC Chargesheet 2025" lists the following major allegations:
Misappropriation of over ₹5,000 crore from development funds, including road, drainage and slum rehabilitation projects
Awarding contracts worth thousands of crores to politically connected firms without proper tendering
Failure to clear garbage, leading to repeated outbreaks of vector-borne diseases
Collapse of monsoon preparedness, with over 200 flooding hotspots still unresolved
Irregularities in property tax collection and illegal constructions regularised for bribes
Neglect of public health infrastructure, including non-functional hospitals and water contamination
Political interference in recruitment and transfers, creating a "parallel administration" loyal to the ruling party
Mismanagement of COVID-19 relief funds and ongoing irregularities in welfare schemes
Environmental violations, including destruction of mangroves and illegal dumping in coastal areas
Deliberate delay in holding BMC elections to avoid accountability
Patole termed the current administrator rule, which has continued since March 2022 after the previous term ended, as “the longest period of civic dictatorship in Mumbai’s history.” He demanded immediate dissolution of the administrator system, fresh elections, and a CBI probe into the charges.
The Congress also released a set of RTI replies and audit observations to back its claims, asserting that the Shinde Sena-BJP combine has turned BMC into a “personal fiefdom” for siphoning public money.
BJP spokesperson Sudhir Mungantiwar dismissed the chargesheet as “election gimmickry” and “baseless propaganda by a frustrated opposition.” He claimed the Congress was trying to divert attention from its own past record of corruption during the 2017–2022 term. Shinde Sena leaders echoed the view, calling the document a “bundle of lies” and challenging Congress to prove the allegations in court.
The release of the chargesheet comes just weeks before the likely announcement of the BMC election schedule by the State Election Commission, setting the stage for a fierce battle over control of Asia’s richest civic body.
