'Help them refresh': Shiv Sena shifts newly elected corporators to Bandra luxury hotel; Mahayuti eyes mayor post

NEW DELHI: Following a sweeping victory for the BJP-Shiv Sena Mahayuti in the BMC elections, Eknath Shinde shifted the newly elected corporators to a luxury hotel in Bandra on Saturday as the race for Mumbai’s next mayor intensified.The Shiv Sena contested 90 seats in the Mumbai civic polls and won 29. A senior party leader said the corporators were being shifted to the hotel to help them “refresh” after a hectic election season, but did not specify how long they would stay there. Another party functionary said the move was meant to orient newly elected members and added that the corporators would be housed in the hotel for a couple of days.According to sources, the Shinde Sena is likely to stake claim to the Mayor’s post in India’s richest municipal corporation. The demand is being linked to the centenary year of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, with January 23 marking his 100th birth anniversary.The undivided Shiv Sena had controlled the BMC for the longest period before the party split into two factions in 2022. In the latest civic polls, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance emerged as the single largest bloc, defeating the Thackeray brothers. Official figures show the BJP won 89 seats, while its alliance partner, the Shinde Sena, secured 29 seats.After the Mahayuti’s victory in most of the civic bodies that went to polls, the CM said the alliance would form Mayors in 25 of the 29 municipal corporations.However, discussions on the Mayor’s post cannot begin in any of the 29 municipalities until there is clarity on reservations for each municipality’s Mayor position.Earlier today, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the decision on the Mayor’s post would be taken collectively by him, deputy CM Eknath Shinde, and party leaders. He clarified, “There is no dispute whatsoever on this.”