On Wednesday, Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam held a core committee meeting with Shiv Sena leader Rahul Shewale at the BJP office to take forward seat-sharing talks.
Mumbai: The BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena have reached a seat-sharing agreement for 200 of the 227 seats in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), with negotiations underway for the remaining 27 seats. The BJP has prepared its first list of candidates, though the party has decided against formally releasing it. Instead, candidates will be informed individually by the party leadership. The Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is unlikely to be part of the alliance for the BMC elections.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the alliance was in its final stages. “We are in the final stage, and the alliance will be announced soon,” he said.
On Wednesday, Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam held a core committee meeting with Shiv Sena leader Rahul Shewale at the BJP office to take forward seat-sharing talks.
According to a BJP insider, a formal announcement of the Mahayuti alliance between the BJP and the Shiv Sena is expected on Thursday. The broad framework for seat sharing has been largely finalised, with the Shiv Sena likely to contest 75 to 80 seats, the BJP around 140 to 145 seats, and five to seven seats to be allotted to the Ramdas Athawale-led Republican Party of India (RPI).
Sources said Mr. Fadnavis is scheduled to hold a late-night meeting with Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at Varsha, the Chief Minister’s official residence, to resolve differences over the remaining 27 BMC seats.
The insider added that the party would disclose candidates’ names only on the final day of nominations to prevent rebel candidates from filing nominations.
The BMC election assumes considerable political significance for the BJP-led Mahayuti, as the alliance is keen to dislodge the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), which controlled the civic body for 25 years.
Meanwhile, a marathon meeting was held on Tuesday night between Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan and Mr. Shinde to finalise seat-sharing arrangements for civic bodies across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), including Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli and Navi Mumbai. The discussions lasted nearly five hours, stretching until around 4 am.
