NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday met his party’s district unit presidents and top functionaries to chart out preparations for the crucial local body elections across Maharashtra later this year.The polls will cover 29 municipal corporations, where ward delimitation has already begun, along with 32 zilla parishads, 336 panchayat samitis and 248 municipal councils.“Uddhavji asked district presidents to galvanise the grassroots cadre and begin poll preparations. He also instructed them to keep a close watch on the electoral roll revision and ward delimitation process,” senior Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab told PTI after the meeting.The gathering, held in Mumbai, was attended by district chiefs, regional coordinators (sampark pramukhs), and other key party office-bearers from across the state.Former Lok Sabha MP Vinayak Raut said the sentiment among workers was clear: they want to contest the elections independently.“The cadre feels we should fight the local body polls alone. Uddhavji will take the final call on the issue,” he said.However, the possibility of a united front under the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) umbrella remains open. Earlier in the day, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar indicated that the alliance, comprising the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), Congress, and Shiv Sena (UBT), will soon hold discussions on fighting the civic polls together.The local elections are being seen as a litmus test for all major parties ahead of the 2029 Maharashtra assembly polls.