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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.

Less people, many choices

Updated: Dec 23, 2024

The dispute over plum departments and guardianship of districts delayed portfolio allocation even after a week

dispute over plum departments

Mumbai: The difficult choice given to cabinet ministers to choose either of the plum departments or the guardianship of the districts of their liking is delaying the portfolio allocation of the ministers in Maharashtra, sources privy of the developments have said.


In the previous government the Shiv Sena as well as the NCP pulled shots. They got almost all they wanted - sometimes even at the cost of the BJP. However, with the massive mandate this time, the BJP is not ready to budge. Apart from a couple of plum departments the BJP wishes to keep all the plum portfolios with itself. Moreover, under the new scheme of arrangements between the alliance partners, the old power sharing formula is being replaced with the new one. This is likely to change the guardian ministers of most of the districts and the BJP has staked claim on guardianship of key districts, which in turn has delayed the portfolio allocation, the sources said.


Pune is one of the key districts that the BJP wants to control. During the previous government finance minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar was also the guardian minister of Pune. However, this time the BJP, which has given two ministerial berths to Pune city in the form of Chandrakant Patil and Madhuri Misal, is keen on controlling the funds allocation in the district by staking claim on the guardian ministership. Pawar is not comfortable with this new arrangement and that is delaying the finalization of portfolios, the sources said.


Pawar wanted to keep both - the finance department as well as the guardianship of the Pune district. However, the BJP has asked him to choose between any one of these two things, the sources said. Pawar is upset due to delay in portfolio allocation. But, he is learnt to have been told that deliberations are going on to ensure there is no display of disgruntlement like the one seen after the cabinet expansion wherein several former ministers expressed disappointment over not being clearly told of being dropped from the cabinet in advance.


Attempts are being made to thoroughly discuss even the finer aspects of the new power sharing formula with as many concerned individuals as possible and to convince them to follow the formula. This is delaying the portfolio allocation, the sources added.


Meanwhile, DCM Eknath Shinde, who is facing ire of his party MLAs after he had to drop at least three of his ministers while he was the CM, mat his party MLAs in a bid to pacify them saying that those who were promised ministerial berth and were not given it stand a chance in the next expansion. However, this has led to speculations whether it was meant just to pacify disgruntled MLAs or some of the ministers in the current cabinet too are likely to be dropped in the due course of time.

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