BJP, Shinde's Sena bury the hatchet, to contest high-voltage BMC elections together as part of Mahayuti
The BJP and Shiv Sena have decided to bury their differences and contest the polls to Asia's largest civic body -- the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) -- together as part of the Mahayuti. They also agreed to set up a coordination committee to resolve any differences. In a meeting, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, state BJP president Ravindra Chavan and revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule decided to forget the bitterness that arose during the recent local body elections and contest the upcoming district panchayat and municipal corporation polls, including the BMC elections, together rather than separately. Bawankule, a senior BJP leader, said instructions will be given to local leaders to sit together and start discussions on seat sharing. We are confident that 90 per cent of the issues will be resolved at the local level, while any remaining issues will be resolved at state level. We decided that there will be four representatives from each party who are empowered to discuss the issues, he said. The Shiv Sena is demanding 80 to 90 seats in the BMC. However, the final decision will be taken later. There are no disputes and differences in the Mahayuti. We had only differences of opinion. We decided to bury the differences and start planning for the upcoming elections, he added. Bawankule further said that the Mahayuti is targeting more than 51 per cent votes in the upcoming elections. The situation is very positive for the Mahayuti. We have undertaken a lot of development work along with several welfare schemes. Therefore we are confident that the people of Maharashtra will cast their votes in favour of the Mahayuti in the upcoming elections as well, he said. Political observers said the Mahayuti leaders realised that if they continue to fight among themselves, it will be tough for them to win the BMC elections for which Uddhav and Raj Thackeray have decided to join hands. The consolidation of voters will be a major plus point for the Thackerays therefore the Shinde-led Shiv Sena's role is important to break this matrix. The BJP knew that on its own it will be tough to win the BMC so they announced that the next mayor of Mumbai will be decided by the trio of Fadnavis, Shinde and Ajit Pawar, said an analyst.
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