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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.

Rahul Gandhi's citizenship issue under consideration: Centre to Delhi HC

  • PTI
  • Mar 26, 2025
  • 2 min read

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court was informed by the Centre on Wednesday that the issue over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Indian citizenship was under consideration with the Ministry of Home Affairs.


Noting the submission of the counsel for the Central government, a bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Tushar Rao Gedela posted the matter on May 28.


BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had sought directions to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to decide over Gandhi's citizenship.


"The matter is under consideration," Additional solicitor general Chetan Sharma said.


The bench was also informed that the Allahabad High Court, which was seized of a similar case, had recently granted four weeks time to the ministry to apprise it about the outcome of the proceedings.


When Swamy urged the court to direct Gandhi to file his response to a letter issued to him by the MHA, the bench said it couldn't control the action of the ministry.


"We can't compel. The proceedings are before the ministry. It is for the ministry to take a decision. We can't control the actions of the ministry and cannot issue any direction to any person who is party to the proceedings before the ministry," it said.


On February 19, the Delhi High Court asked the Centre to apprise it of the status of Swamy's representation given to the MHA to decide over Gandhi's Indian citizenship.


Swamy's plea, filed by advocate Satya Sabharwal, said on August 6, 2019, a letter was sent to the ministry alleging Gandhi had "voluntarily disclosed" to the British government that he was a citizen of British nationality, which amounted to holding a British passport.


Swamy, therefore, said the Congress leader, being an Indian citizen, had violated Article 9 of the Constitution, read with the Indian Citizenship Act, and would cease to be an Indian citizen.


He claimed to have made several representations to the ministry inquiring about the status of his complaint but neither was any action taken nor was he intimated about it.


In the MHA's April 2019 letter to Gandhi, he was informed about Swamy's representation over his citizenship and he was reportedly asked to intimate the factual position in the matter within a fortnight of receipt of the communication.


On Wednesday, BJP worker from Karnataka S Vignesh Shishir, moved the Allahabad High Court over Gandhi's citizenship, updated the bench with the developments in his petition.


Shishir was permitted by the Delhi High Court to file an impleadment application and an affidavit mentioning the developments that took place following his PIL filed in the Allahabad High Court.


While Swamy has maintained that the matter pending in the Allahabad High Court was unrelated to his case as the prayers were totally different, Shishir claimed his plea had led to multiplicity and parallel proceedings.

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