top of page

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.

From 'A Sam Shi' to 'use and throw', Uddhav and Shinde factions get creative in bitter war of words

  • PTI
  • Apr 6, 2025
  • 2 min read

Mumbai: The acrimonious fight between the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena has moved on to a phase of creativity in wordplay with abbreviations being used to lampoon each other.


Over the past few days, Uddhav Thackeray and his son and former minister Aaditya Thackeray have begun calling Shinde "A Sam Shi", which is the abbreviation of the deputy CM's full name Eknath Sambhaji Shinde.


Since the split in the Bal Thackeray-founded party in June 2022, the Thackeray faction has often used the terms "gaddar" (traitor) and "khoke" (alleging that crores changed hands to split the party) to mount stinging attacks on Shinde.


Shinde has hit back asking if UT, the abbreviation for Uddhav Thackeray, stood for "use and throw".


A party functionary said Uddhav Thackeray's fresh jibe at Shinde was aimed at the latter using Sena founder Bal Thackeray as the party mascot.


"He (Shinde) should use his father's name and form his own party rather than stake claim over Bal Thackeray's legacy and party," the functionary said.


Post the split, Shinde's faction got the Shiv Sena name and 'bow and arrow' symbol, while the one led by Thackeray was christened Shiv Sena (UBT) with its symbol being "mashaal" or flaming torch.


Another party leader said the Thackeray family has its own way to target its bitter opponents, be it former chief minister Narayan Rane or NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal.


Both were firebrand leaders who enjoyed immense confidence of Bal Thackeray.


But after they quit the party, Bal Thackeray gave them sarcastic monikers that have stuck for long time.


"It is the Thackeray family's way of telling their opponents that they are not worthy of being addressed respectfully by their full and proper names," the leader said.


Shinde has also often used the term "work from home" to lampoon Thackeray.


As chief minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022, Thackeray came under fire from the opposition as well as his allies for running the government from his Matoshri residence rather than Mantralaya, the state secretariat in south Mumbai.

Comments

bottom of page