Shinde group's several corporators not in favor of BJP mayor, tussle intensifies for Mumbai mayor's post

Senior Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday claimed that several newly elected corporators of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena are not in favor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) getting the mayor's post in Mumbai. Amid the rapidly changing political landscape in Mumbai after the civic polls, Raut told the media that most of the corporators from the Shinde group were originally associated with the united Shiv Sena founded by Balasaheb Thackeray.

According to Raut, his party's understanding is that nobody in Mumbai wants a BJP mayor. He said the situation on the ground is not what it appears to be, and many elected representatives are not satisfied with the decision. Raut's statements have come at a time when Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has shifted his 29 corporators to a luxury hotel in Mumbai. The Shinde faction claims that all these corporators are attending a three-day workshop where they will be briefed about the functioning and working of the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

When asked if the corporators from the Shinde faction could return to the Uddhav Thackeray faction, or 'ghar wapasi', Raut said that even though the corporators are staying in a hotel, channels of communication are not closed. He said that even if they are being kept under confinement, there are many ways to communicate, and those who are being confined should be freed.

Raut further claimed that even Eknath Shinde himself does not want a BJP mayor in Mumbai. Referring to Uddhav Thackeray's statement a day earlier, he said that there are significant developments taking place behind the scenes at the political level. Thackeray had said that if God wills, his party could still get the mayor's post, and also hinted that the Shinde faction fears that the BJP might try to poach its corporators.

Raut also revealed that there have been discussions between Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray over the mayor's post, but his party is currently watching the entire process with neutrality.

It is worth noting that in the recent BMC elections, the BJP won 89 seats, while the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena got 29 seats, giving the Maha Yuti alliance a clear majority in the 227-member house. The Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena won 65 seats in the elections.