Shiv Sena (UBT) on Tuesday sharply criticised the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) for its abrupt decision to defer elections to 24 nagar parishads and 154 wards in 76 other civic bodies to December 20, alleging that the move was a calculated political strategy that has thrown the state’s democratic process into chaos.

In a strongly worded editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction accused the SEC of acting under political pressure. The editorial claimed the Commission had “proven that its mind is not in the right place” and questioned its authority to postpone elections without adequate justification.

The piece went on to allege that the government, “particularly the BJP,” had turned the SEC into a “joker” in the political arena. It described the postponement as a “planned mess and chaos,” orchestrated to provide electoral advantage to the ruling alliance.

According to the editorial, the SEC cited ongoing court matters for the deferment but allegedly ignored “unprecedented corruption and expenditure” by ruling partners to influence voters. It claimed that the current polls were among “the most expensive and corrupt” in four decades, with parties engaged in a “shameless competition” to spend crores of rupees to buy votes.

Shiv Sena (UBT) argued that the postponement will escalate campaign spending, forcing candidates to engage in “new rounds of Lakshmidarshan” to draw voters to polling booths. It added that the state’s fiscal situation, with a debt burden of “Rs eight lakh crore,” made such political extravagance even more alarming.

The editorial criticised Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his two deputies for making “arbitrary promises” despite the lack of government funds, alleging that the political machinery is running on “strong private treasuries” rather than the state exchequer. The party demanded that the state leadership reveal the true financial situation to the public.

Shiv Sena (UBT) also questioned whether the SEC had acted independently, asking whether the Chief Minister or the urban development department — which oversees civic bodies — played any role in the decision to postpone the elections. The party dismissed the Chief Minister’s criticism of the SEC’s move as mere “political theatre”.