Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde have been quite vocal about fighting the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls unitedly under the Mahayuti banner, but have maintained a studied silence when it comes to the other municipal corporations.
The state’s ruling Mahayuti alliance comprises the BJP, to which the CM belongs, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
The matter of the polls is especially critical in neighbouring Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) that comprises Thane (seen as Shinde’s bastion), Navi Mumbai (considered BJP leader Ganesh Naik’s stronghold), and Kalyan-Dombivali (seen as a turf of both Shinde’s son Shrikant and BJP state president Ravindra Chavan).
With both the BJP and Shiv Sena having their own strongholds in the MMR, it is speculated there might be a separate contest between the Mahayuti partners here, also because of a “cold war” between Naik and Shinde.
On Friday, BJP minister Naik to mediapersons that civic bodies in MMR would be led by the BJP. “If the leadership wants an alliance, then workers should be respected. But if the ground workers are not respected, then I will be the one who will demand that an alliance should not happen.”
Shiv Sena MP from Thane and former mayor of Thane municipal corporation Naresh Mhaske, however, told ThePrint Friday that BJP needs to rein in critical leaders. “This Mahayuti was formed because Eknath Shinde took a bold decision (of separating from the undivided Shiv Sena) and nobody should forget this. If the local leaders are making such statements, then their leadership should give them an earful.”
Referring to Naik, he added that it was the responsibility of leaders to make sure there was no dent in the Mahayuti’s image.
“If someone is criticising continuously, they should remember that Shinde came to the BJP’s side and hence the government was formed. They should remember the history and background,” he asserted.
Acknowledging the problem in the MMR, a BJP leader not willing to be named told ThePrint: “In the BMC, there is no confusion. We will fight in alliance as our leaders have also indicated. But we have a strong presence in the MMR. So, the alliance there will be finally decided by the top leadership”.
“There are many workers who also deserve a chance at contesting. So local level leaders, I believe, will be consulted before finalising any alliance,” the leader added.
Political observers believe that such “friendly fights” will not affect the political equation in Maharashtra.
“These are pressure tactics from both ends. By keeping the lid tighter in Thane, the BJP is hoping that Shinde will concede more seats, and Shinde is hoping that if he compromises in Thane, then in Navi Mumbai, he will get a good deal, that is if they decide to go together,” said political analyst Abhay Deshpande to ThePrint.
“In local body elections, many times in the past, parties have fought separately. Take the example of the Congress and the (undivided) NCP, or the BJP and the (undivided) Shiv Sena in the 2017 BMC polls. This does not normally affect the image or equation in the state. Leaders are mature enough to take care of that,” he added.
Also Read: Shinde & Thackeray revive Shiv Sena’s classic ‘Marathi manus, sons of soil’ pitch ahead of BMC polls
Allies at odds
Speaking to ThePrint last month, BJP’s Mumbai president Ameet Satam had said that once a Mahayuti mayor is installed in the BMC, they would work towards execution of their manifesto.
But things would not be that smooth in the rest of the state, especially in the key corporations of Thane, Navi Mumbai and Kalyan-Dombivali.
For the past few years, the BJP and Shiv Sena have been at loggerheads with each other, especially in Thane where Shinde is seen as wanting full control.
BJP’s Ravindra Chavan, who hails from Dombivali, has been expanding the footprint of the party in the MMR. He oversaw the municipal corporations in MMR while serving as guardian minister of Raigad and Palghar districts in the Shiv Sena stronghold of Konkan.
In the Konkan region, things went south between the two allies over the Mumbai-Goa highway.
Last year, Ramdas Kadam, a Shiv Sena leader from the Shinde camp, hailing from the Konkan region as well, called Ravindra Chavan a “useless minister” over the constant delays in the construction of the highway. Blaming then-public works department minister Chavan, Kadam called out his “incompetence”, as well as slow progress of the highway construction work.
On the other hand, BJP’s Naik, a heavyweight from Navi Mumbai who is seen to wield influence in Thane and neighbouring Raigad districts, has been holding a janta durbar (public hearing) in Thane since the formation of the government.
In an apparent response to Naik, Shinde also started taking meetings in Navi Mumbai, promising to end years of alleged misgovernance in Navi Mumbai.
On Thursday, Naik once again reiterated that Navi Mumbai belongs to the BJP. “Navi Mumbai people are aware. They will not fall prey to any kind of incentives like a few bucks or any teerth yatra. I don’t think Navi Mumbai people will give their power to shameless people,” he said to the media.
Responding to the constant criticism from Naik, minister and Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant told the media Thursday: “If he has any governance-related issues, he should talk it out with Fadnavis or Shinde or Ajit Pawar. Every now and then, criticising Eknath Shinde will not be tolerated. Nobody should try to teach us anything. If you come against us, we will not keep quiet.”
‘Alliance won’t happen everywhere’
The BMC was ruled by the undivided Shiv Sena for 25 years till 2022, with the BJP being a junior partner for the most part. In 2017, both parties contested the elections independently and the BJP ended up winning 82 of the 277 seats, just two short of the undivided Shiv Sena’s 84.
In last year’s Maharashtra assembly election too, the BJP, which swept the state, also emerged as the single-largest party in Mumbai, winning 15 seats, followed by the Sena (UBT) which won 10 seats in Mumbai, half of its total tally across the state. The Shinde-led Shiv Sena clinched five while the Ajit Pawar-led NCP got one seat.
In different parts of the state, parties have different stronghold where workers would not like a compromise. As far as an alliance is concerned, Deshpande said that it is not a compulsion for the parties. Like in Nagpur, for instance, it won’t make sense for the BJP to give a lot of seats to Shinde’s Sena and likewise in many other corporations where the BJP is stronger, he explained.
Similarly, for the Shiv Sena, if it is strong in, say Marathwada, they would not like to part with many seats, he added.
“The alliance won’t happen everywhere. But in the BMC, the BJP would want Marathi votes, which are with both the Shiv Senas (Shinde-led and UBT). Shinde claims to have about 55 former corporators from the Shiv Sena (UBT) on his side, which will help the BJP consolidate its position in the BMC. In small pockets, there might be alliances where local leaders will get a chance in the corporation,” Deshpande said.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)