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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.

Litmus Test for Women’s Voice

Shaina NC, the candidate from Mumbadevi assembly constituency for the Shiv Sena under CM Eknath Shinde has filed a complaint with the police against Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant on Friday for his derogatory remarks against her depicting women as a commodity. She had been raising voice for women’s rights and had been vocal for increasing women’s participation in male dominated active politics.

Shaina comes from a prominent family. Her father, Nana Chudasama, was a well-known businessman and former Sheriff of Mumbai. He was also known as a philanthropist and was famous for his witty one-liners on current affairs. Shaina, a fashion designer by profession, has inherited most of his qualities that has kept her afloat in the politics for around two decades.


Shaina ventured into politics for the first time in 2004, by joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She contested the assembly elections that year unsuccessfully and was given the responsibility of the then newly formed Health and Cultural Cell in the state party unit. In 2007 she was given the responsibility as party spokesperson in its Mumbai unit. The next year she was elevated as the state spokesperson. Contrary to expectations, he wasn’t given the ticket in 2009 assembly elections or any other elections though she expressed her desire to contest the elections several times at various levels.


However, she remained the party’s primary connect to the world of celebrities from Bollywood, the fashion world and even from the industry. He photographs were prominently displayed a few years back with industrialist Ratan Tata when he visited Hedgewar Smriti Bhavan at Nagpur a few years back. It was due to such strong contacts that she was elevated to national executive council of the party in 2010 and eventually became the national spokesperson of the party in 2013. Since 2014 she has been the treasurer of the BJP’s Maharashtra unit. Recently, she joined Shiv Sena in order to contest against Congress MLA Amin Patel from the Mumbadevi constituency.


Born on December 1, 1972, in Mumbai, Shaina completed her schooling at Queen Mary School and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the St. Xavier’s College. She also holds a diploma in fashion design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She holds a Guinness World Record for draping a saree in 54 different ways fetching her the title “Queen of Drapes”.


In this journey of over two decades, Shaina has covered a large ideological spectrum. Once a very vocal critic of the handling of situation post Godhra riots, she now advocates aggressive Hindutva. Voicing of concern for women’s rights, however, has not changed.

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