Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde has rejected the news of new political equation after the announcement of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election results. He said on Monday (January 19) that Mumbai will have a Mahayuti mayor. Shinde told the media that in the municipal bodies where Shiv Sena and BJP had jointly contested the elections, mayors from the Mahayuti alliance would be appointed. Rejecting the rumours, the Deputy Chief Minister said that Shiv Sena will not go against the mandate.

Shinde’s statement comes amid the ongoing debate over the shifting of 29 elected Shiv Sena councilors to a hotel in Mumbai after the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won a slim majority in the BMC. The election results were declared on Friday last week. There is speculation that Shinde wants to ensure the post of BMC mayor for Shiv Sena for at least the first two and a half years, as this is the birth centenary of party founder late Bal Thackeray.

What did Shinde say about the councilors being kept in the hotel?

Speaking to the media, Shinde said, “Shiv Sena and BJP had fought the BMC elections under the alliance, hence the Mahayuti candidate will become the mayor.” The same decision will be taken in Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, Ulhasnagar and other municipal bodies, where the alliance had jointly contested.” Officially, the Shiv Sena says the newly elected members were shifted to the hotel for a training workshop to familiarize them with the functioning of the country’s richest municipal body.

BJP-Shiv Sena got majority in BMC

The move was taken after the announcement of BMC election results, in which Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena emerged as the second largest party after BJP by winning 65 seats. BJP won 89 and its ally Shiv Sena won 29 seats, giving Mahayuti a slim majority in the 227-member BMC.

‘There is no truth in the news of new political equations being formed’

The Deputy CM said, “Mumbai people have voted for the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance with confidence and that trust will be respected. It also said that there is no truth in the news of new political equations being formed in BMC or other municipal bodies of Maharashtra, and wherever elections have been fought together under an alliance, the post of mayor will go to Mahayuti only.” Meanwhile, Shiv Sena said in a release that although no party has got a clear majority, the mandate in BMC is in favor of the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance.

Reservation for all 29 mayor posts of Maharashtra Municipal Corporation including BMC is to be decided through lottery. The candidates for the post of Mayor will come forward only after the reservation is decided. If there is reservation for ST for the post of BMC mayor, then Uddhav Thackeray group can become mayor. Actually, before the elections, two wards, Ward No. 53 and Ward 121, were reserved for STs. All parties fielded candidates on these two seats, but the candidates of the Uddhav group have won on both the seats.

Uddhav group’s winning candidate

Uddhav group candidate Jitendra Valvi has won from Ward 53. Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Priyadarshini Thackeray won from Ward 121. In the civic elections, Jitendra Valvi defeated Ashok Khandve of Shinde faction while Priyadarshini Thackeray defeated Pratima Khopde of Shinde faction.

Which party got how many seats in BMC?

The alliance of BJP and Shiv Sena won a clear majority in BMC. BJP won 89 seats and Shiv Sena won 29 seats. Both the parties together won a total of 118 seats. There are total 227 seats in BMC. The majority figure is 114. Shiv Sena (UBT) won 65 seats while its ally Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) won 6 seats.

Congress, which contested the elections in alliance with Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), has got 24 seats. Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won 8 seats. Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) got 3 seats, while Samajwadi Party got two and Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP) got only one seat.

Tug of war between Shiv Sena and BJP over Mayor!

On the other hand, there is speculation about an alleged tussle between Shiv Sena and BJP regarding the post of Mayor in BMC. According to sources, amidst this discussion, Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde said that Shiv Sena will respect the mandate given to BJP led ‘Mahayuti’ in BMC. Sources also said that the matter of 29 elected Shiv Sena councilors being kept in a five star hotel in Mumbai is being unnecessarily exaggerated.