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| BJP workers celebrate the win in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections (BMC). ANI |
The decision comes after the ruling coalition swept the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections last week, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 89 seats. Together with deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena faction, which secured 29 seats, the Mahayuti alliance crossed the halfway mark of 114 seats needed to control the civic body.
The lottery outcome proved to be a setback for Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT), which had anticipated the mayor's post would be reserved for a Scheduled Tribe woman. Both eligible candidates in that category belonged to Thackeray's party, which won 65 seats in the elections.
Leading Contenders for Mayor's Post
With the reservation process concluded, attention has turned to potential candidates for the BMC mayor position. The frontrunners include Alka Kerkar, a three-time corporator and former deputy mayor, and Rajashree Shirwadkar, also a three-time corporator.
Opposition Alleges Rigged Process
The lottery-based reservation process triggered sharp criticism from the opposition, with Shiv Sena (UBT) alleging the exercise was manipulated to favor the ruling alliance.
Former Mumbai mayor and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar, who attended the meeting, claimed the government had altered reservation norms for the Scheduled Tribe category by increasing the minimum number of seats from two to three across municipal corporations.
"This amounts to an injustice to SCs and STs, as Mumbai was excluded from these reservations, as well as from OBC reservation," Pednekar said.
UBT Appeals to Shinde Faction
In a surprising move, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Bhaskar Jadhav appealed to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena to support the Thackeray faction's candidate in the mayoral election rather than back their ally, the BJP.
Jadhav framed the appeal as a tribute to Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray in his 100th birth anniversary year. "Those who claim to uphold Balasaheb's ideals and project themselves as his true inheritors should support the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate in the BMC polls. That would be the real tribute to Balasaheb in his birth centenary year," he said.
Defection Fears
Adding to the political drama, Shiv Sena (UBT) lodged a police complaint over four of its corporators who are allegedly untraceable amid claims they may switch allegiance to the Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
In response to concerns about poaching, the Shinde-led Sena moved its winning corporators to a hotel in Bandra to prevent any defection attempts.
End of an Era
The election results mark a significant shift in Mumbai's civic politics. The Shiv Sena (UBT), which governed the BMC for 25 years since 1997 when the party was united, now finds itself in opposition. Its allies, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), won six seats and one seat respectively.
The battle for control of India's richest municipal corporation reflects the broader political realignment in Maharashtra following the split in the Shiv Sena and the subsequent formation of competing factions.
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