Eknath Shinde moves corporators to hotel, signalling power tussle with BJP ahead

BJP dominates Maharashtra civic polls, winning 1,400 seats. Power struggle emerges with Shiv Sena over mayoral posts amid coalition negotiations.

MUMBAI: A day after the BJP dominated the civic polls across 29 cities in Maharashtra, the race to cobble together a majority in the civic bodies has begun in earnest. While the BJP won a majority on its own in 14 municipal corporations, including Pune, Nagpur and Nashik, it will need its Mahayuti partners for eight bodies in the second phase.

CM Devendra Fadnavis and other BJP leaders had announced that the mayor would be “from the Mahayuti alliance”, avoiding naming any party and putting off any bitterness with the Shinde-led Sena which is keen to lead the BMC. (HT File Photo/Raju Shinde)

In the first indication of the hard bargaining that is likely to ensue, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde on Saturday moved his 29 newly elected Mumbai corporators to the Taj Land’s End in Bandra, fuelling speculations of a power tussle between him and the BJP after their alliance won a historic verdict that ended the reign of the Thackerays in the civic body.

During the BMC poll campaign, CM Devendra Fadnavis and other BJP leaders had announced that the mayor would be “from the Mahayuti alliance”, avoiding naming any party and putting off any bitterness with the Shinde-led Sena which is keen to lead the BMC. It is against this background that Shinde’s move has created a flutter.

Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde on Saturday moved his 29 newly elected Mumbai corporators to the Taj Land’s End in Bandra (HT Photo/Satish Bate)

Late on Saturday evening, the Shiv Sena decided to downplay the situation, claiming it had organised a three-day workshop conducted by senior party leaders for the corporators. “Shinde instructed us to begin work immediately to justify the trust placed by the people in the Shiv Sena,” said Sena corporator Amey Ghole. “Accordingly, we attended the guidance camp the very next day after the election results were declared. Strategies and campaign plans for the upcoming Zilla Parishad elections will also be discussed.”

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Late on Saturday evening, the Shiv Sena decided to downplay the situation, claiming it had organised a three-day workshop conducted by senior party leaders for the corporators. “Shinde instructed us to begin work immediately to justify the trust placed by the people in the Shiv Sena,” said Sena corporator Amey Ghole. “Accordingly, we attended the guidance camp the very next day after the election results were declared. Strategies and campaign plans for the upcoming Zilla Parishad elections will also be discussed.”

Sena sources, however, indicated that the move was made so that the party could demand an equal share in power in the BMC. Shinde wants the mayor’s post to be shared by the two parties in turn or be given the chairmanship of the civic standing committee, which controls the BMC’s ₹75,000-crore treasury.

The deputy chief minister’s demands clearly stem from his confidence that the BJP will need him to get control of the BMC. While the BJP did win 89 seats, it needs 114 for a simple majority in the civic house of 227. Together, the two parties have 118 seats but if Shinde backs out, the BJP has no other ally to make up the numbers. The rest of the house comprises the Sena (UBT) with 65 seats, the Congress (24), AIMIM (8), MNS (6), NCP (3), Samajwadi Party (2) and the NCP (SP) with one seat.

A BJP leader said there would be a joint decision on the mayoral posts in Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli and Ulhasnagar. “The two parties will need each other’s support, as neither of us has a clear majority,” he said. “We will collectively decide on the mayor and committees in these bodies. However, the BJP is unlikely to concede the Mumbai mayor’s post to Shinde.”

Signs of a rift have emerged even from Shinde’s bastion Thane, where his Sena won 75 out of 131 seats and will not need the BJP’s support of 28 seats. However, local BJP leaders want a “respectable share in power” and have threatened to sit in the Opposition if this does not happen.

The BJP will have to haggle with allies to win a majority in other bodies too. In Amravati, it will have to join hands with either the Ravi Rana-led Yuva Swabhimani Party (YSP) or the Ajit Pawar-led NCP to win a majority in the 87-member corporation. While the BJP won 25 seats here, Rana’s party won 16 and the NCP bagged 11. The BJP will need the support of either of these parties, but even despite this, it is not in a position to reach the halfway mark. Adding to the stress is the fact that the YSP and NCP are arch-rivals in district politics, and NCP district leader Sanjay Khodake has announced that they will not support the BJP if Rana’s party is part of the alliance.

Seat wins and losses

The BJP has emerged as the largest party in the corporation elections by winning 1,400 or 49.4% of the total 2,833 seats in 29 bodies, leaving other parties far behind. In the last elections held between February 2015 and December 2018, the collective seats held by the party were 1,099 (or 40.1%) of the total 2,736.

The Congress’ tally has dropped to 324 from 439 in the last civic polls. The NCP’s seats have sunk to 160 from 294, which was the number before the split in the party. The score of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena has dropped to 379 from 489 seats of the undivided Sena. The NCP (SP) has bagged 36 seats in 29 bodies while the Shiv Sena (UBT) has won 153 seats across the state. The MNS’s tally has come down to a mere 13 seats from 26 last time.