Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Dec 30: The ruling Mahayuti alliance on Monday finalised its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections scheduled for January 15, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) set to contest 137 seats and the Shiv Sena fielding candidates in 90 seats.
The seat-sharing formula was announced by Mumbai BJP president Amit Satam following intense negotiations held a day before the deadline for filing nomination papers, which closes on Tuesday.
Under the arrangement, both the BJP and Shiv Sena will also accommodate their respective alliance partners by allocating seats from within their assigned quotas. With the distribution of AB forms completed, candidates from both parties are expected to file their nominations on Tuesday.
Leaders from the alliance said the final agreement would help streamline campaign strategies and ensure a united and coordinated contest in the high-stakes civic elections.
Another key Mahayuti constituent, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, will contest the BMC polls independently. The party has so far announced 64 candidates for the civic body elections.
Elections to 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra, including the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, will be held on January 15, with counting scheduled for the following day.
Just days ago, seat-sharing talks within the Mahayuti had reportedly hit a deadlock, with Mumbai emerging as the primary flashpoint. Reports suggested that the Shiv Sena was pressing to contest 100 seats, while the BJP was initially offering only 75. Despite multiple rounds of negotiations, the Sena had rejected the offer, delaying the finalisation of the pact.
The impasse had stalled seat-sharing discussions not only for Mumbai but also for several other major municipal corporations in the state.
Earlier reports had indicated that Mahayuti leaders were considering keeping Ajit Pawar’s NCP out of the BMC contest, with only the BJP and Shiv Sena expected to fight the polls. However, the NCP later decided to enter the fray independently.
The Mahayuti’s civic poll strategy follows its recent sweeping performance in elections to 288 municipal councils and nagar panchayats across Maharashtra, where the alliance secured control of 207 municipal president posts. In contrast, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) managed only 44 posts.
According to final results released by the State Election Commission, the BJP won 117 municipal president posts, followed by the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena with 53 and the NCP with 37. On the Opposition side, the Congress won 28 posts, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP secured seven, while the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena managed just nine.
The results reinforced the Mahayuti alliance’s political dominance in Maharashtra, while the MVA continued to struggle to regain public confidence following last year’s Assembly elections.