BJP, Sena agree on 150 seats for BMC polls, struggle over 77 looms
The two Mahayuti allies, which have kept their third partner, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP out of the alliance for Mumbai’s civic polls, held a marathon meeting at the BJP’s Dadar office on Thursday
MUMBAI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena have worked out seat-sharing details for 150 of the 227 seats in elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). They will take a call on the remaining 77 seats, which are proving contentious, only after they agree on the total number of seats each party will contest. This was decided during their second meeting after elections to the January 15 civic elections were announced.
The two Mahayuti allies, which have kept their third partner, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP out of the alliance for Mumbai’s civic polls, held a marathon meeting at the BJP’s Dadar office on Thursday. They sealed details on contesting 150 seats, most of which had sitting corporators from either the Sena or BJP when the BMC’s five-year term came to an end in March 2022. The number of seats cornered by each party has not bene disclosed.
The BJP had 82 sitting corporators, while the Eknath Shinde-led Sena had over 55 corporators who stuck with him when he split in the party in 2022. Negotiations weren’t entirely smooth as the BJP staked its claim to some seats held by sitting Sena corporators.
Among the 150 seats were a handful won by the undivided Sena in 2017, but were left with the Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray after the split. The Sena conceded some of these to the BJP as it felt it doesn’t stand a chance in these constituencies.
Insiders from both parties say negotiations for the remaining 77 seats would likely be stormy as both parties have staked their claim to them. “The BJP is offering its alliance partner only 52-55 seats in total. It is also trying to muscle in on some seats represented by Sena corporators in the previous election,” said a Sena leader.
“For instance, the BJP is eying seat number 5 and 25 (both in Magathane assembly constituency) even though the Sena had won these in 2017. The BJP has been pointing to its increased strength reflected in the assembly polls. There are similar examples in other seats in Mumbai,” said the Sena leader.
He said a decision on the number of seats to be contested by each party will need the intervention of senior leaders. The Sena is demanding 90 seats, but the BJP is not inclined to concede more than 55-odd seats.
Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam said, “We have not fixed any formula or figure on the seats to be contested by us. We have finalised 150 seats that we will contest as Mahayuti, keeping the development of the common man as the utmost priority. A decision on the remaining 77 seats will be taken in the next four days,” said Satam.
Sena leader and industries minister Uday Samant said disputes on seats where a consensus was not possible would be resolved by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde. “The alliance is unbreakable and it will not be impacted in any way by the seat-sharing negotiations. Ours are cadre-based parties and we believe in the alliance,” said Samant.
Apart from Satam and Samant, Ashish Shelar, Atul Bhatkhalkar, Rahul Shewale and Prakash Surve represented their parties at the meeting.
Meanwhile, the BJP reiterated that there will be no alliance with the NCP for the BMC polls, as long as Nawab Malik is in charge of the Ajit Pawar-led party in Mumbai. “Malik is facing serious charges and as long as he leads their party in Mumbai, there is no question of going with them. If they change their leader, we can think of joining hands,” said Satam.
The BJP and Shiv Sena have finalized seat-sharing for 150 of the 227 seats in the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, with ongoing negotiations for the contentious remaining 77 seats. The Sena seeks 90 seats, while the BJP is inclined to offer only 52-55. The alliance remains firm, excluding the NCP under Nawab Malik.