Determined to prevent defections, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde has decided to complete all paperwork involving the 29 newly elected corporators of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, who were moved to a five-star hotel in Mumbai soon after their poll win.
According to sources in the Shiv Sena, the leader of the group of Sena corporators is likely to be named today. All documentary work will be completed today to remove all possibilities of defections.
Names such as Yamini Jadhav, Trishna Vishwasrao and Amey Ghole -- young but experienced corporators -- are being discussed for top roles.
The BMC polls, held after 2017, saw the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP and its ally, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, win 89 and 29 seats, respectively. The Thackeray brothers, Uddhav and Raj, who fought in alliance with the NCP's Sharad Pawar faction, have won 72 seats together. While the BJP and Shinde Sena have the numbers to cross the majority mark in the 227-member House, the question of who the mayor will be is likely to dominate the discussions between the allies.
BMC has had a Sena Mayor for decades now, and Shinde, whose mutiny split the Sena, will push for the Mayor post to bolster his claim that his faction is the real Shiv Sena. The BJP, on the other hand, will likely want to claim the mayor's post to make a political point, as the BMC has never had a BJP corporator as Mayor.
As for the Opposition, the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, and NCP (Sharad Pawar) won 65, six, and one ward, respectively. This adds up to 72. The Congress won 24 wards, AIMIM eight, and the Samajwadi Party two. If the Opposition decides to join ranks, the tally would go up to 106, eight short of the majority. While this is highly unlikely, it remains a possibility.
It is against the backdrop of this poll math that the Shinde Sena is not taking any chances. Soon after their win, Shinde moved all 29 corporators to a five-star hotel to foil any poaching attempt.
Sena (UBT) chief and Shinde's former boss, Uddhav Thackeray, claimed that the Deputy Chief Minister is actually wary of ally BJP. "Those who had once abandoned a party can do it again," he said.
Thackeray's aide and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut has said many of the Shinde Sena corporators are new faces. "They are Shiv Sainiks, and they do not want a BJP mayor." In a cheeky remark, he added, "No matter how much you confine them, there are many means of communication; messages can still go through," he said, adding that "if God wills", a Mayor from their party can still take charge.
Shinde loyalist Raju Waghmare has said the Sena (UBT) must accept its defeat. "We don't want anybody to try to coerce them (corporators) and anybody trying to convince our corporators. We fought the election properly. We want all formalities to be completed properly. That's why we kept our corporators in a secluded place."
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said he, Shinde and other stakeholders will take a call on the Mayor question.
