BJP-Sena still haggling over seats, NCP most likely to go it alone in BMC polls

Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde is adamant about contesting close to 100 seats in the BMC polls. The BJP is willing to concede only 87.

MUMBAI: With just two days left to file nominations for the BMC polls, consensus still eludes the BJP and Shiv Sena in their seat-sharing pact. Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam said the two ruling partners had reached an agreement on 207 of the civic body’s 227 seats, with the BJP contesting 128 and the Sena 79. “The sharing of the remaining 20 seats will depend on the candidates fielded by the opposition,” he said.

Mumbai, India - June 30, 2022: Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis interact with the media before the swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, June 30, 2022. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

Mahayuti insiders, however, told HT that Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde was adamant about contesting close to 100 seats, especially after his party’s good showing in the first phase of the local polls. The BJP is willing to concede only 87, having set a target of winning 100 seats; it wants to contest accordingly. This deadlock continues.

Another reason that the seat-sharing is still in limbo is the BJP’s insistence on contesting seven or eight seats won by the undivided Shiv Sena in 2017. BJP leaders believe they have a better chance of winning them, but Sena leaders feel they owe them to the corporators who won them in 2017 and subsequently defected to the Shinde Sena. “They took a risk and joined our party. We can’t betray them,” said a Sena leader.

A former BJP legislator said there were arguments and counter-arguments galore in the past two days. “Finally, we decided to put the contentious seats aside and finalise candidates in agreed-on seats,” he said. “There are just two days left to file nominations, and we need to give our candidates enough time to complete the paperwork.”

While the haggling continues, both parties have chosen not to announce the candidates immediately. Instead, individual candidates are being informed directly and told to keep their documents ready to file the nomination forms on Monday. Keeping the names under wraps will also help the parties sidestep any rebellion by aspirants who fail to get tickets. The final seat-sharing agreement and most of the candidates’ names are likely to be made public after December 30, the last day for filing nominations.

The BJP-Sena seat-sharing dispute continues in other cities too. In Thane, the Sena had 82 sitting corporators while the BJP had 24. The BJP wants 45 seats in the 131-member house, but the Sena is unwilling to grant them, said a Sena minister. In Mira-Bhayander, the BJP had 61 corporators, and the Sena had 22. The latter now wants 37 seats, which the BJP is not willing to concede.

Meanwhile, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has almost decided not to go with the BJP and Sena, as the party was not even invited for the seat-sharing talks. The BJP has objected to the NCP’s decision to let controversial former minister Nawab Malik lead the party in the polls. The NCP will now contest on its own and is planning to field around 100 candidates. State NCP president Sunil Tatkare said, “We will still hold a final meeting on Saturday night and announce our decision on Sunday.”

Meanwhile not everything is hunky-dory with the MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT) either. “We are being given zero seats in our stronghold, Vikhroli, and one seat each in Mahim, Bhandup and Worli,” said an MNS leader. “This is sheer injustice. We are being offered wards which have 40 to 60 per cent Gujarati population, where we are certain we won’t get votes.”

At the seat-sharing meeting, Sena (UBT) leaders said that if both parties came together, they could do good for Mumbai. “But if we can’t do justice to our own workers by giving them tickets, how will we do justice to the Marathi people? How can we function if we get one seat in one assembly constituency and the Sena (UBT) gets five?” demanded an MNS leader.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab, however, claimed that the alliance was almost finalised. “We are also trying to get the NCP (SP) on board,” he said.