Athawale Slams Mahayuti Over BMC Snub

Mumbai: Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday expressed displeasure after the Republican Party of India (Athawale faction) was kept out of the Mahayuti alliance for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. Describing the move as a ‘betrayal of trust,’ Athawale announced that the RPI would field its own candidates in 38 seats and support the Mahayuti elsewhere.

Mr. Athawale said the RPI was not even included in seat-sharing discussions and his party was offered just seven seats hours before the nomination filing deadline was set to close.

The Union Minister said the RPI had submitted a list of 26 seats to the BJP and was expecting an allocation of 14 to 15 seats. He termed the outcome a “betrayal” and announced that the RPI would contest 38 seats independently, using its own symbol, in Mumbai. “The BJP should withdraw from some of the seats and allot at least 10 to 12 seats to Republican Party workers. Although Monday was the last day for filing nominations, there is still time to withdraw candidatures. The BJP must concede the 10 to 12 seats sought by the Republican Party. Failing this, the Republican Party will be left with no option but to contest in a friendly manner in 38 seats in Mumbai,” Mr. Athawale said.

On Monday, the BJP and Shiv Sena announced that they will contest 137 and 90 seats respectively under their agreement for the Mumbai civic polls.

In a post on X written in Marathi, Mr. Athawale said, “The BJP offered a proposal for just seven seats late at night, but putting up candidates in new places at the eleventh hour is now impossible. Even though our strength in Mumbai is greater than that of the (Prakash Ambedkar-led) Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, we were sidelined in the seat-sharing talks, which has caused intense resentment among RPI workers across Maharashtra.”

Mr. Athawale said the RPI was the BJP’s first alliance partner and that it was only after the RPI joined hands with the BJP that the BJP–Shiv Sena alliance expanded into the Mahayuti. He warned that his party would not compromise on its principles or the dignity of its cadre. “We are not like other leaders who repeatedly twist words or change their stance as it suits them. Fundamentally, we cannot accept compromising by forgetting the party, the workers, and their self-respect, because the strength of the workers is the true strength of the party,” he said.

Urging the BJP to accommodate his party in the Mahayuti alliance for the BMC election, Mr. Athawale added, “From a broader perspective, it is extremely essential for the Ambedkari society’s power to participate in governance and, through that, to keep the work for the common people going uninterrupted.”