BJP cadre not unhappy about Mahayuti allies contesting BMC poll together: CM

BJP workers in Mumbai are not unhappy with the party’s decision to fight the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election jointly with its Mahayuti allies, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday. He added that the next mayor of Mumbai will be from the ruling alliance.

The senior BJP leader’s comments come against the background of reports of displeasure among the party workers who were gearing up to fight the civic body election on their own.

In the previous BMC election in 2017, the party had won 82 of the 227 seats, just two short of the undivided Shiv Sena’s tally of 84.

‘Better prospects’

BJP workers had been hoping to fight the BMC election single-handedly given that the party has electorally strengthened its position in Mumbai over the past few years. After the 2024 Assembly election, at least one-third of the total number of MLAs in Mumbai belong to the BJP.

The likelihood of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray joining hands to contest the poll could also dent the prospects of the Shiv Sena faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. BJP workers felt that the party stood a better chance of winning the poll if it went solo.

Following the split in the Shiv Sena in 2022, Mr. Shinde’s faction has claimed that it enjoys the support of 120 corporators. “Winnability will be the biggest factor while deciding the allocation of seats,” a Shiv Sena leader told The Hindu.

State BJP chief Ravindra Chavan had said on Friday that the Mahayuti allies will fight the BMC election and all other local body polls together. The announcement came against the backdrop of acrimony among the ruling allies – the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP – during the first phase of the local body polls.