MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena and the NCP are set to join hands for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections (BMC) scheduled in February 2022 while the third partner in the Maha Vikas Aghadi, the Congress, will contest solo.
According to sources, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar had a series of meetings where the issue was discussed.
“We have asked to identify the wards where each party candidate stands a strong chance. Our present strength in the 227-member corporation is nine. We can fight on 50 seats while the Shiv Sena can contest the rest. The Marathi voters are with the Sena, which, combined with Muslim, Dalit and NCP-loyalist votes, can deliver victory on many seats,” said an NCP leader.
The Shiv Sena currently holds 99 seats in the BMC.
“In the 2017 polls, the BJP put in a lot of effort and won 84 seats against their previous tally of 35 but the Sena finally managed to bag the BMC. This time, the party did not want to take any chance and therefore decided to tie up with NCP. The NCP may not have a major base here, but it has certain loyalists that will surely add up to the total tally,” said a Sena leader.
He added that there could be no alliance with the Congress since it was difficult to allot seats to the grand old party as per its demand.
Mumbai Congress president Bhai Jagtap said the party had decided to fight alone.
“We have already started our preparations. Our membership drive is also in full swing. The Congress has a major base in Mumbai. So, we are confident of winning many seats. Rahul Gandhi will be in Mumbai on December 28 to kickstart the BMC campaign,” Jagtap added.
Not taking risk this time
The Shiv Sena currently holds 99 seats in the BMC. In the 2017 polls, the BJP won 84 seats against their previous tally of 35.
This time, the Sena does not want to take any chance and has decided to join hands with the NCP.