This painting on the Thane Municipal Transport's bus ensures a free ride for Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray around Thane city.

May 11: The ruling Shiv Sena in Thane Municipal Corporation has ordered fresh elections to the civic school board to be held on June 9. The election to the school board is due only one year later.

The surprise announcement for an early poll by Mayor Vijaya Deshmukh on Sunday follows the arrest of Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress chief Jitendra Awhad, who is also the chairman of the board. Awhad was arrested along with four others by the Thane unit of Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) last week for their alleged involvement in a multi-crore land scam.

The Mayor's decision caught the Congressmen napping. The city Congress is also neck deep in trouble. The arrest itself evoked mixed reactions among Congressmen. While his opponents welcomed the ACB action, his supporters said it was `politically motivated'. A Youth Congress leader, on condition of anonymity, stated the arrest had brought shame to the youths.

The term of the present board expires in June 1998. As per a municipal act the elections can be held within three years of the formation of the board or immediately after the civic elections.

Reacting sharply to the arrest, Congress members in the board said the mayor should have instead sought the resignation of Awhad. At present the party position in the board is Congress-7, Sena-4, BJP-2, government nominees two and government officer one.

When contacted by Express Newsline, MPCC chief Sushilkumar Shinde refused to comment on the arrest. However, another spokesman is understood to have declared that Awhad might be replaced soon.

Meanwhile, a senior official of the state ACB Suresh Kakkad was in Thane to guide the investigations in the scam.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.