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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Shinde dilutes demand

Likely to be content with Deputy Mayor’s post in Mumbai Mumbai: In a decisive shift that redraws the power dynamics of Maharashtra’s urban politics, the standoff over the prestigious Mumbai Mayor’s post has ended with a strategic compromise. Following days of resort politics and intense backroom negotiations, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has reportedly diluted its demand for the top job in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), settling instead for the Deputy Mayor’s post. This...

Shinde dilutes demand

Likely to be content with Deputy Mayor’s post in Mumbai Mumbai: In a decisive shift that redraws the power dynamics of Maharashtra’s urban politics, the standoff over the prestigious Mumbai Mayor’s post has ended with a strategic compromise. Following days of resort politics and intense backroom negotiations, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has reportedly diluted its demand for the top job in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), settling instead for the Deputy Mayor’s post. This development, confirmed by high-ranking party insiders, follows the realization that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) effectively ceded its claims on the Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) to protect the alliance, facilitating a “Mumbai for BJP, Kalyan for Shinde” power-sharing formula. The compromise marks a complete role reversal between the BJP and the Shiv Sena. Both the political parties were in alliance with each other for over 25 years before 2017 civic polls. Back then the BJP used to get the post of Deputy Mayor while the Shiv Sena always enjoyed the mayor’s position. In 2017 a surging BJP (82 seats) had paused its aggression to support the undivided Shiv Sena (84 seats), preferring to be out of power in the Corporation to keep the saffron alliance intact. Today, the numbers dictate a different reality. In the recently concluded elections BJP emerged as the single largest party in Mumbai with 89 seats, while the Shinde faction secured 29. Although the Shinde faction acted as the “kingmaker”—pushing the alliance past the majority mark of 114—the sheer numerical gap made their claim to the mayor’s post untenable in the long run. KDMC Factor The catalyst for this truce lies 40 kilometers north of Mumbai in Kalyan-Dombivali, a region considered the impregnable fortress of Eknath Shinde and his son, MP Shrikant Shinde. While the BJP performed exceptionally well in KDMC, winning 50 seats compared to the Shinde faction’s 53, the lotter for the reservation of mayor’s post in KDMC turned the tables decisively in favor of Shiv Sena there. In the lottery, the KDMC mayor’ post went to be reserved for the Scheduled Tribe candidate. The BJP doesn’t have any such candidate among elected corporatros in KDMC. This cleared the way for Shiv Sena. Also, the Shiv Sena tied hands with the MNS in the corporation effectively weakening the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s alliance with them. Party insiders suggest that once it became clear the BJP would not pursue the KDMC Mayor’s chair—effectively acknowledging it as Shinde’s fiefdom—he agreed to scale down his demands in the capital. “We have practically no hope of installing a BJP Mayor in Kalyan-Dombivali without shattering the alliance locally,” a Mumbai BJP secretary admitted and added, “Letting the KDMC become Shinde’s home turf is the price for securing the Mumbai Mayor’s bungalow for a BJP corporator for the first time in history.” The formal elections for the Mayoral posts are scheduled for later this month. While the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA)—led by the Shiv Sena (UBT)—has vowed to field candidates, the arithmetic heavily favors the ruling alliance. For Eknath Shinde, accepting the Deputy Mayor’s post in Mumbai is a tactical retreat. It allows him to consolidate his power in the MMR belt (Thane and Kalyan) while remaining a partner in Mumbai’s governance. For the BJP, this is a crowning moment; after playing second fiddle in the BMC for decades, they are poised to finally install their own “First Citizen” of Mumbai.

An Urban Showdown

In Pune’s well-heeled Kothrud constituency, a triangular contest is brewing ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly elections. With traffic snarls, infrastructure gaps, and competing claims of development, the race for Kothrud’s assembly seat is set to be a high-stakes contest.


The battle for Kothrud is essentially a reflection of the larger tension between political promises and the practical demands of urban governance.


Chandrakant Patil, the sitting BJP minister and candidate, faces serious challenges from both the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Once a BJP stronghold, Kothrud has witnessed dramatic shifts over the years—none more significant than Patil’s controversial rise to the seat in 2019. Despite being considered an ‘outsider’ from Kolhapur, Patil triumphed over the MNS’s Kishor Shinde by a comfortable margin, thanks in part to his party’s well-oiled election machine and a divided opposition. This time around, however, Patil, a former Maharashtra BJP president, may find the going tougher.


For Chandrakant Mokate, the Sena (UBT) nominee, this election is a homecoming of sorts. A former MLA from Kothrud, Mokate, who represented the constituency until 2014, believes his deep roots in the area will resonate with voters who feel disconnected from the present administration.


Kothrud is a constituency in crisis. While the region boasts some of Pune’s most sought-after real estate, including the upscale areas of Baner, Pashan, and Balewadi, its infrastructure is sorely lacking.

The area’s roads are perpetually clogged, and footpaths are almost non-existent in many stretches, leaving pedestrians to risk life and limb on busy thoroughfares. With frequent roadworks for utilities and delayed construction projects, local residents are increasingly frustrated.


Take, for example, the Baner Pashan Link Road and Paud Road - both notorious for frequent traffic jams. The district’s ongoing struggles with garbage management also reflect deeper systemic issues.

Despite a shift in the garbage depot from Kothrud several years ago, residents complain of chronic sanitation problems.


Amid these frustrations, BJP’s Patil is staking his claim on the state government’s track record, touting welfare schemes that have been implemented across Maharashtra. As his strongest rival, Mokate is not so easily swayed. The former MLA asserts that a focus on basic infrastructure and development is needed before voters will return to the BJP fold.


Not to be outdone, MNS’s Kishor Shinde - re-nominated after his previous defeat - has made civic issues his central plank. Having served as a corporator in the Pune Municipal Corporation, Shinde claims the pace of development in Kothrud has been haphazard and poorly managed.

Encroachments and unchecked growth are major issues that need urgent attention, Shinde argues, positioning himself as the candidate of reform.


The contest, however, is not just about infrastructure. Kothrud’s voters, many of whom are upper-caste Brahmins, have long leaned towards pro-Hindutva politics. In a constituency where saffron support runs deep, all three contenders - Patil, Mokate, and Shinde - are competing for the same ideological ground.

As the election approaches, the pressure on Patil is mounting. Once seen as the BJP’s golden boy, he now faces a tough task of managing a city that is still grappling with its growing pains.

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