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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.

Names of 10k genuine voters deleted in each constituency, alleges MVA

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Names of 10k genuine voters deleted in each constituency, alleges MVA

Mumbai: Leaders of the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi on Saturday accused the BJP of deleting names of at least 10,000 genuine voters from each constituency in Maharashtra in the run-up to the November 20 assembly polls.


Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut alleged Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule was part of the conspiracy to delete the names of bonafide voters and get bogus names, including those from other states, added to the electoral roll.


“The conspiracy to delete at least 10,000 names from each constituency has been exposed. We will create awareness among people and, if needed, will lead a protest march to the election office with those whose names have been deleted,” Raut said.


Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole, who was also present during this media interaction, said the MVA has met the state’s chief electoral officer.


The opposition will also send a detailed mail on the matter to the Election Commission of India, Patole added.


“Out of fear of losing the assembly polls, names of original voters are being deleted. Names of bogus voters from other states are being included. Some officials are hand in glove with the BJP in this. People of Maharashtra will not tolerate it if the ECI does not conduct assembly polls in a transparent manner,” Patole said.


He alleged the voters whose names have been deleted belong to particular castes and religion.

Speaking on the issue, NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad said the MVA has found that names of original voters, who cast their franchise in 2024 Lok Sabha polls, have been deleted in Shirdi, Chandrapur, Arvi, Kamptee, Kothrud, Gondia, Akola East, Chikhli, Nagpur, Kankavli, Khamgaon, Chimur and Dhamangaon Railway assembly seats.


Meanwhile, Patole also asked why the ECI cannot remove Maharashtra Director General of Police (Rashmi Shukla) for the sake of fair and free polls when it has taken such a step in poll-bound Jharkhand.

The ECI on Saturday directed the Jharkhand government to remove the state’s Acting Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Gupta from his post with immediate effect due to a “history” of complaints against him in previous elections.

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