Shiv Sena’s demand for over 100 seats in BMC polls leads to deadlock as neither ally gives in
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde will meet to resolve the seat sharing issue. FILE PIC
Seat sharing talks between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections have hit a roadblock with the latter demanding more than 100 seats. With neither side willing to back down, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde are expected to meet today or tomorrow to resolve the deadlock.
According to a section of Shiv Sena leaders, the demand for over 100 seats is based on the party’s performance and strike rate in earlier elections. They also point out that nearly 50 corporators who had won the 2017 BMC polls on the undivided Shiv Sena ticket have since left Uddhav Thackeray and joined the Shinde camp. “Mumbai is the heart of the Shiv Sena. Keeping all these factors in mind, the party has asked for more than 100 seats,” a Shinde Sena leader said.
On the other hand, the BJP is keen to contest around 145 seats, as this would put it close to the halfway mark of 114 seats needed to win control of the 227-member Mumbai civic body on its own. It is reliably learnt that the BJP has so far offered around 80 seats and is unwilling to concede any more.
Sources said Ajit Pawar’s NCP is, for now, not being considered as part of the alliance in Mumbai. If a third partner is eventually accommodated, the share of seats for both the BJP and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena could come down further.
For nearly 25 years, the Shiv Sena (undivided) and the BJP ruled the BMC together before their alliance broke in 2017. In the last civic elections, Shiv Sena emerged as the single largest party with 84 seats, followed closely by the BJP with 82 seats. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) won seven seats, six of which later shifted to Uddhav Thackeray’s party. The Indian National Congress secured 31 seats, and the Nationalist Congress Party (undivided) won nine, while others shared the remaining 14 seats.
Now, with the Thackeray cousins Raj and Uddhav formally announcing their alliance, it has given Shinde an upper edge for seat sharing negotiations with the BJP, as the latter would not risk a split in votes and allow rivals an advantage in the prestigious BMC elections. The BJP for long has been dreaming to single handedly rule the BMC.
Asked whether there is a possibility of both parties going independent for the local polls, both the BJP and the Shinde camp replied in the negative and sounded confident about resolving the seat sharing issue. “Fadnavis and Shinde will resolve this issue at their level,” Mahayuti leaders said.
The filing of nomination papers for municipal corporation polls began on December 23 and will continue till December 30. However, no party has announced its seat sharing formula or candidates until now, leaving many hopefuls in the dark and increasing anxiety among aspirants. The election for the BMC and 28 other municipal corporations will be held on January 15, and counting will be conducted the next day.
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