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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.

Uddhav’s big heart: No, possible future threat

Updated: Nov 7, 2024

Uddhav

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) on Monday decided to give away three seats in Raigad district – Alibaug, Pen and Panvel – to Peasants and Workers party (PWP). Sources believe that the decision has come after the party president Uddhav Thackeray realised that PWP may cause a bigger harm to his party in the long run if it is not accommodated in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA).


Shiv Sena (UBT) and PWP both were struggling to arrive at a consensus over the crucial seats in Raigad, Solapur and Nanded districts. PWP had claimed six assembly seats of which four are from Raigad district (Alibaug, Pen, Panvel and Uran) and one each from Solapur (Sangola) and Nanded (Loha Kandhar) districts.


PWP has a strong hold over four seats of Raigad district and Sangola seat of Solapur. PWP had demanded six seats while in talks with the MVA and subsequently declared candidates for all of them on October 22. Next day, Shiv Sena (UBT) also went ahead and declared candidates for those seats.


The controversy arose from attempts by top MVA management to settle scores with smaller allies. Experts believe that Thackeray felt that PWP didn’t support their candidate, Anant Geete, enough during the Lok Sabha elections, leading to his defeat. This led to Thackeray withdrawing support from PWP General Secretary Jayant Patil during the legislative council elections.


Thackeray’s decision to leave the crucial seats for PWP seems to be politically driven one, purely because of PWP’s moves during the Lok Sabha elections.


The PWP has fielded Chitralekha Patil in Alibaug, Atul Mhatre in Pen and Balaram Patil in Panvel. Chitralekha had recently donated cycles to 22000 girls so that they could reach their schools and colleges comfortably. Her political debut marks the Patil family’s fourth generation’s involvement in the politics of Alibaug.

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