Talks are underway between Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackery and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on the post of Mayor of Mumbai, according to party sources.
The development came after Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde housed his elected corporators at Hotel Taj Land’s End in Bandra West to prevent any “poaching” attempts.
Though Shinde has staked his party’s claim to the post of Mumbai mayor, given BJP’s superior numerical strength, it is unlikely to accept this demand and Shinde is aware of it.
However, Shinde is still taking a cautious stance so that the feelings of his workers are not perceived to be ignored and there is no messaging that his party is on the ‘backfoot’. Also, sources said it is being seen as Shinde’s political ploy to get a share in other important committees of the BMC, if the mayor’s post is not given to his party.
According to those familiar with the developments, it has been proposed that 65 of Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena corporators will be “absent” during the mayoral election.
If Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena corporators remain “absent” during the mayoral election of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), it would mean that a mayor will be elected “unopposed”.
Though BJP MLA Praveen Darekar has publicly claimed that no such discussion has taken place with Uddhav Thackeray, sources said talks are on behind the scenes.
After the BMC elections, 89 corporators were elected from the BJP and 29 corporators got elected from the Eknatrh Shinde-led Sena, while 65 corporators from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and 6 from the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have been elected. However, to form a majority in the BMC, 114 corporators are needed. To achieve this figure, the BJP needs the help of its ally Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Deputy CM Eknath Shinde is fully aware that the BJP will not be able to install its mayor in Mumbai without the help of his party and he is also said to be afraid of another split being engineered in his party, due to which he has shifted them to Hotel Taj Land’s End in Bandra West, sources said.
In a related development, it is learnt that the reservation lottery for the post of mayor of 29 metropolitan municipalities in Maharashtra will be held on Thursday, January 22. This process will be held at 11 am in the Council Chamber of the Ministry. Only after the announcement of reservation, will candidates be decided.
So far, the reservation for the post of mayor was decided on a rotational basis for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), women and Other Backward Classes (OBC). However, sources said that this reservation process could be started in a circular manner by making a change in the rules. This means there is a strong possibility that this cycle of reservation will start again from the ‘open category’. If reservation is abandoned and started from the ‘open category’, many general category leaders may get the opportunity to be mayors.
The mayor is elected for a term of 2.5 years. He is a ceremonial head and ‘First Citizen’ of Mumbai, but executive powers rest with the Municipal Commissioner, who is an IAS officer.