PUNE: While the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has decided to contest the Pune Municipal Corporation elections together, the ruling Mahayuti partners — the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena — will also fight the polls as an alliance in the city. The only exception within the Mahayuti will be the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, which is set to contest separately.
This was confirmed after a meeting of senior BJP and Shiv Sena leaders held in Pune on Thursday. BJP leaders Murlidhar Mohol, Chandrakant Patil, Madhuri Misal, Dheeraj Ghate and Ganesh Bidkar were present, while the Shiv Sena was represented by Vijay Shivthare, Sanjay More and Nana Bhangire.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mohol said the party leadership had taken a clear decision that BJP and Shiv Sena would contest all municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra as the Mahayuti. “Accordingly, we will contest the Pune civic polls together. Thursday’s meeting was a preliminary discussion. There will be further meetings to give the alliance a final shape. Discussions on seat-sharing are under way, but no final decision has been taken yet,” Mohol said. In 2017, BJP had 102 corporators, Shiv Sena 10, and NCP 42.
Mohol added that the decision was taken jointly by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde. Mohol said some discussion on specific wards and numbers had taken place, but stressed that these were only initial talks.
{{/usCountry}}Mohol added that the decision was taken jointly by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde. Mohol said some discussion on specific wards and numbers had taken place, but stressed that these were only initial talks.
{{/usCountry}}Shiv Sena leaders said they had submitted a list of wards where the party is keen to contest, but acknowledged that no final allocation has been made so far.
Sources in the BJP said the party is likely to offer up to 30 seats to the Shiv Sena, mainly in Hadapsar and merged village areas. The sources added that the BJP is also expected to play a key role in finalising candidates from the Shiv Sena quota while distributing tickets.
Mohol also sought to downplay the possibility of rebellion, saying both parties have a large number of aspirants. “It is natural for people to be aspirants. We are contesting together, so there is no question of rebellion. The BJP follows a democratic process of inviting applications and conducting interviews. The final decision will be taken by the core committee and party leadership,” he said.
He further said the alliance with the Republican Party of India (Athawale) would continue. “I recently met Ramdas Athawale in Delhi. A meeting with RPI leaders will be held soon and our alliance will remain intact,” Mohol said.
On the issue of leaders from other parties seeking entry into the BJP, Mohol clarified that no inductions would take place for now. “The election process has started. Decisions on whether to take anyone from other parties will be taken by the party leadership. Once someone joins, they become a BJP worker, but winnability is also assessed while finalising candidates,” he said.
The BJP-Shiv Sena decision in Pune comes even as Chief Minister Fadnavis recently announced that the BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP would contest civic polls separately, albeit in what he described as a “friendly contest”, adding another layer of complexity to the city’s electoral battle.
Sena Pune chief not invited
While from Shiv Sena, senior leaders like Neelam Gorhe was present, party’s Pune chief Ravindra Dhangekar was not invited for the meeting. Dhangekar was in the recent past critical of BJP leaders such as Chandrakant Patil and Murlidhar Mohol. Despite several warnings from the party, Dhangekar was critical of Mohol during the recent Jain trust land controversy.