Maharashtra civic polls: Eknath Shinde corrals his 29 corporators in hotel; no question of poaching, says CM Devendra Fadnavis

MUMBAI/PUNE: With negotiations for power-sharing in the Mumbai civic corporation between BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena expected to take time, the Shinde Sena on Saturday corralled all 29 of its newly-elected corporators in a five-star hotel in Bandra.

BJP, which won 89 seats in the 227-member BMC House, needs the Sena's support to get its mayor elected. Together, the allies have 118 members in the new House.




Sena functionaries who did not wish to be named said Shinde was seeking the Mumbai mayor's post for 2.5 years for his party and a share in key BMC committees, including the powerful standing committee. However, the Sena claimed it had organised a three-day workshop for its corporators, which is why they were together.

CM Devendra Fadnavis too downplayed the Shiv Sena's move to shift its corporators to the five-star hotel, ruling out the possibility of poaching. Mumbai will have a consensus "Mahayuti" mayor, he said. "Just like I am meeting newly-elected BJP corporators in Pune, Eknath Shinde may have called them for a meeting in Mumbai. There is no question of poaching," he said in Pune.

The CM said, "Eknath Shinde, I and other leaders from both parties will meet and together take a decision regarding who will be the Mumbai mayor and for how long. There will not be any differences. Everything will go smoothly. Together, we will efficiently run Mumbai."

Sena functionaries said it will only be fair on the BJP's part to share the mayor's post with it so that Shinde has "respect" in the alliance.

Also read: Who will be Mumbai mayor? Suspense grows as Shiv Sena eyes first 2.5-year term; Uddhav Thackeray pushes ‘dream’ pitch

CM Fadnavis was slated to leave for Davos to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Saturday night, and a final decision on the power-sharing pact in the BMC is likely to be finalised only after he returns next week.

Sena corporator Amey Ghole explained Shinde will guide the corporators on the functioning of BMC and plans for the next five years.

Eknath Shinde felicitated all his newly-elected corporators on Saturday, and corporator Amey Ghole said that at the three-day workshop, the Dy CM will be explaining the city's development plan, implementation of the election manifesto, and preparation of a roadmap for the next five years.

A Sena functionary said, "We are going to ask for the 2.5 year-term of the mayor. And this must be the first 2.5 years. The BJP can take the second 2.5 years. The BJP has not won enough seats to anoint the mayor on their own, so they must share the post. Posts on all other committees like the standing and improvements committees can be shared according to the winning ratio of 2:1. So the Sena must get the standing committee chairmanship for 2 years and chairpersons' posts in other committees too."

The mayor's term is for 2.5 years, so in the five-year term of the BMC House, the mayor is elected twice. Ghole said that at the three-day workshop, "Dy CM Shinde will personally guide the corporators. Senior party leaders will also brief them on the procedures of the BMC and provide guidance on effective governance in their respective wards. In addition, strategies and campaign plans for the upcoming zilla parishad elections will be discussed. - Chaitanya Marpakwar and Sarang Dastane