Sanjay Nirupam also accused Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray of abandoning the ideals of party founder Bal Thackeray by "joining hands with the Congress and jihadi Muslims"
Sanjay Nirupam
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam on Tuesday said his party should get 90-100 seats in the BMC elections 2026, including the wards won by the undivided Shiv Sena in the 2017 civic elections, a demand that came amid alliance talks with the BJP.
Addressing a press conference, Nirupam also accused Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray of abandoning the ideals of party founder Bal Thackeray by "joining hands with the Congress and jihadi Muslims".
This is not acceptable to Marathi manoos, Nirupam claimed.
By all circumstances, Mumbai will have a Mahayuti mayor and "certainly a Mamu or Khan will not be the one", he said.
Any attempt to do so will be thwarted, Nirupam further said.
"The Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha criteria should be applied to the BMC elections 2026," the former MP said.
He said during the Vidhan Sabha polls, seats won by the undivided Shiv Sena were allotted to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
"We expect that the same formula should be applied in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls," Nirupam said.
Of the 84 former corporators of the undivided Shiv Sena, some 60-65 have joined the Shinde-led Sena and were assured election tickets, he said, adding that former corporators from other parties like the Congress have also joined the Sena.
"With 90-100 seats (to Shiv Sena), the BJP and Shiv Sena can give a good fight," he added.
Talks between Shiv Sena-BJP are underway to firm up an alliance between the two parties for the BMC elections 2026.
Mahayuti wave to extend to municipal corporations, says Sanjay Nirupam
Nirupam said the Mahayuti’s strong performance in the recent municipal council and nagar panchayat elections indicates that a similar wave will be seen in the forthcoming municipal corporation polls.
Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Nirupam said that although the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) contested the local body elections independently, voters delivered a clear mandate in favour of all three Mahayuti partners. “A Mahayuti tsunami was visible in these elections, and the same momentum will carry forward into the municipal corporation polls,” he said.
Citing figures, Nirupam said the BJP topped the results with a 63 per cent strike rate, followed by Shiv Sena with 55 per cent and the NCP with 44 per cent. He added that the outcome reflected public approval of the Mahayuti government’s performance, with beneficiaries of schemes targeting women, farmers, youth and senior citizens backing the alliance. “We are confident that Mahayuti-backed mayors will be elected in the maximum number of municipal corporations,” he said.
Nirupam also launched a sharp attack on the Shiv Sena (UBT) faction, claiming voters in the Konkan region had decisively rejected it for “abandoning Hindutva”. He said the UBT faction was wiped out in Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts, and failed to secure a single municipal council president’s post in Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Raigad. Overall, UBT recorded a strike rate of just 18.5 per cent and finished fifth in the municipal council results, while Shiv Sena won 53 council presidents compared to UBT’s nine, he said.
There are a total of 227 seats in the BMC. Elections to 29 civic bodies in Maharashtra will take place on January 15.
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