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Confident Mahayuti will claim Mumbai mayor’s post: Fadnavis
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday responded with sarcasm and confidence that his party could secure the Mumbai mayor’s post if ‘God is willing’
Pune: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday responded with sarcasm and confidence that his party could secure the Mumbai mayor’s post if “God is willing”.
A day after the alliance of the BJP and rival Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena won the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said his party can have its mayor if “God is willing, this dream will be realised.”
“It’s my dream to install a Shiv Sena (UBT) mayor in Mumbai, and if God is willing, this dream will be realised,” Thackeray said, interacting with party workers. The BJP thinks that it has finished off the Sena (UBT), but it was not the case, said the former Maharashtra chief minister, whose party won 65 seats in the 227-member civic body, more than the Eknath Shinde-led faction, which won 29 seats.
He also launched a sharp attack on the BJP, alleging that it had come to power through “betrayal” and accusing it of attempting to “mortgage Mumbai,” a move he claimed Marathi voters would never accept.
Fadnavis, who was in the city to attend a felicitation event of players who participated in the Pune Grand Cycle Tour 2026, when asked whether Thackeray’s reference to “Deva” meant God or himself, as he is popularly addressed as Deva Bhau. “What does Deva mean? Me or God. Because I am also known as Deva Bhau. It is God only who decided that the mayor will be from Mahayuti,” said Fadnavis.
Fadnavis further clarified that decisions regarding the mayoral candidate and tenure of the mayor would be taken collectively by Mahayuti leaders, including himself and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, stressing that there were no differences within the ruling alliance.
Meanwhile, Fadnavis said, “We continue to have good relations with Ajit Pawar (Dada), deputy chief minister.” Pawar didn’t attend the cabinet meeting held in Mumbai earlier on Saturday.”I had met Ajit Pawar on the voting day (January 15) when he told me that he would not be attending the cabinet meeting,” the chief minister added.
