Mumbai: Talks between leaders of Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) concluded on a positive note at Uddhav Thackeray’s residence, Matoshree, on Monday for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, sources said. The meeting lasted for approximately two and a half hours.
Shiv Sena UBT-MNS resolve seat-sharing dispute
According to sources familiar with the discussions, the two parties have resolved their differences over seat-sharing in Marathi-majority areas, a key sticking point in negotiations ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
Earlier, disagreements had emerged over seats in traditional Marathi strongholds such as Dadar, Shivdi, Worli, and Mulund. However, the issue has now been amicably settled, with both parties said to have largely finalised the distribution of seats across Mumbai.
Talks on to include NCP (SP)
Sources indicated that Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS are close to sealing a formal alliance, and a joint press conference by Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray is expected soon to officially announce the tie-up.
Discussions are also reportedly underway to explore the inclusion of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) in the proposed alliance, as opposition parties look to consolidate their strength ahead of the high-stakes civic polls.
BMC elections
The voting for the high-stakes elections to 29 municipal corporations, including the BMC, will take place on January 15. The counting of votes will take place on January 16.
This comes after the two-phase municipal councils and nagar panchayats elections, whose results were declared on Sunday. The elections were swept by the ruling Mahayuti, which includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
According to the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC), the BJP won 117 posts of municipal presidents, Shiv Sena won 53, and the NCP won 37 posts. The Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena-UBT, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP-SP won 28, nine, and seven posts, respectively.
The Congress, Sena-UBT, and NCP-SP are part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), but the allies have failed to form an alliance for the BMC elections. Sena-UBT is looking to seal an alliance with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), but Congress is against the move. Thus, Congress is looking for an alternative alliance for the BMC polls.
