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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.

Patole’s Pivotal Play

Updated: Nov 15, 2024

Nana Patole

One of the most closely watched contests in western Vidarbha in the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections will be in Sakoli constituency, where Nana Patole, the outspoken state Congress chief, is seeking re-election. His battle for a fourth term would be pivotal not only for his own political future but also for Congress’ staying power in Vidarbha which has witnessed a dramatic realignment of political forces in recent years.


In an eventful career of political switches, Patole had first left the Congress and joined the BJP on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and contested from Bhandara-Gondia (of which Sakoli is part of), defeating NCP heavyweight Praful Patel. Patole then famously quit the BJP in 2018 for the Congress after claiming he had been slighted by PM Narendra Modi, and then equally impulsively, stepped down as Maharashtra Assembly Speaker in 2021.


Along with Vijay Wadettiwar, Patole is the Congress’ most prominent OBC face here with a strong ground connect in rural Vidarbha. When he switched parties in 2018, he had cited his disillusionment with the BJP’s handling of issues important to farmers. Since then, he has built a staunch voter base by positioning himself as a fierce advocate for the region’s agrarian concerns.

While he won Sakoli in the 2019 Assembly polls, the current election presents a much more challenging prospect despite the Congress (and the MVA) delivering a sterling performance in this belt in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year.


This time, Patole is pitted against the BJP’s Avinash Brahmankar - a former independent who has carved out a space for himself as an alternative to the Congressman. Brahmankar, it is said, has the backing of both the BJP and local anti-Congress factions. Brahmankar’s entry into the race has already galvanized the BJP’s base, which sees an opportunity to dethrone Patole, who has become something of a lightning rod for criticism from his former party and within the MVA as well.


While Patole’s position as the Congress state president and his advocacy for the OBC community are likely to keep him a formidable challenger, the BJP’s growing influence in Sakoli cannot be underestimated.

For Patole, the stakes are high. As Congress’s chief contender for the Chief Minister’s office in Maharashtra, his performance in Sakoli will shape the party’s prospects in Vidarbha – a region where the Maharashtra Congress’ strength is most concentrated.


In nearby Gondia, Patole’s influence effected a dramatic coup in getting veteran local leader Gopaldas Agrawal to rejoin the Congress after a five-year dalliance with the BJP. Agrawal, a former three-time MLA from Gondia, was promptly fielded as the MVA’s candidate where he takes on the BJP’s Vinod Agrawal.

As Agrawal seeks redemption, the Congress is bolstered by the recent joining of another former BJP local heavyweight, Shishupal Patle. Patle’s political career has seen dramatic highs and lows, including his famous 2004 defeat of Praful Patel, then the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation.


Amidst these contests, rising stars are seeking to make a lasting mark in eastern Vidarbha’s political firmament. Narendra Bhondekar, incumbent MLA of Bhandara, who joined the ruling Shiv Sena led by CM Eknath Shinde after jettisoning his ‘independent’ status, is seeking re-election for a third time. His advocacy for sustainable agriculture and green energy initiatives has earned him significant grassroots support. Shinde has promised Bhondekar the Guardian Ministership of Bhandara if he wins this time.


This year’s election cycle is unlike any other, with political alliances and rivalries in East Vidarbha heating up as the clock ticks relentlessly to polling day.

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