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Eknath Shinde Sena moves Mumbai corporators to hotel after big BMC win for BJP. What is happening?
While the BJP has emerged as the single-largest party in the BMC, its tally remains short of the majority mark, triggering Eknath Sena's fears of poaching.
Unease continues to simmer on Mumbai's politics despite a decisive BJP victory across Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, with parties quietly activating last-minute strategies to tilt the outcome in their favour. Even though the BJP emerged as the single-largest party in the Mumbai polls, its tally remains short of the majority mark, triggering fears of poaching.
Acting on precaution, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde moved swiftly to secure his camp. The Shiv Sena has shifted its newly-elected Shiv Sena corporators to a hotel in Bandra, according to an earlier HT report.
The buzz in political circles is that the BJP had set an ambitious target of at least 110 seats to edge closer to the halfway mark but fell well short.
What's happening in Mumbai?
In the 227-member BMC, the majority mark stands at 114. The BJP has won 89 seats, while the Eknath Shinde–led Shiv Sena has secured 29, taking the ruling alliance’s tally to 118 , just four seats above the halfway mark. With margins this thin, even a small shift could complicate control of the civic house.
On the opposition side, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray struck a defiant note despite losing control of the civic body. He reiterated that it remained his “dream” to see a Shiv Sena (UBT) mayor in Mumbai and said that dream could still come true “if god is willing”.
Uddhav also made a cryptic remark on Saturday, a day after the results, suggesting that his party could still have its mayor in Mumbai, though he did not spell out how.
‘If Shiv Sena was united…’
Sena (UBT) leader Sunil Prabhu has argued that the BJP’s success was only possible because the Shiv Sena was divided. Former Congress leader Sanjay Jha echoed this view in a post on X, saying, “If SS was united, the BJP had no chance in the BMC elections.”
He added that if the factions truly wanted to “restore the SS glory”, a patch-up could still force the BJP into the opposition.
The numbers also tell the same story, while the BJP has emerged as the single-largest party with 89 seats, Uddhav's Sena has won 65 seats and Shinde’s Shiv Sena 29. Together, the two factions would have had 94 seats – more than the BJP’s tally. An alliance with the Congress could have pushed them past the majority mark.
BJP ‘not happy’ with results
Ahead of seat-sharing talks, the BJP had initially planned to contest more than 155 seats and aimed to win around 120–125. However, after the intervention of the party’s central leadership, Shinde is said to have negotiated aggressively and secured 91 seats for his party, leaving the BJP with 137.
With its reduced seat share, the BJP revised its goal to 110 seats but managed only 89.
“The party had inducted 11 sitting corporators from other parties, taking the tally of sitting corporators to 93, including its own 82, ahead of the polls. We could not even retain that number,” said a BJP leader, requesting anonymity.
Party leaders have cited lack of coordination within the Mumbai unit, flawed candidate selection and the failure to counter the “Marathi asmita and Mumbai pride” pitch made by Raj and Uddhav Thackeray as key reasons for the underwhelming finish.
