Friends turn foes, foes turn friends in multi-cornered race to rule BMC as nominations end

Mumbai, Dec 30 (PTI) The January 15 polls to the 227-member Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be a multi-cornered contest after twists and turns, marked by allies turning rivals and coming together of the Thackeray cousins after nearly two decades of estrangement.

Nominations for the polls ended on Tuesday, but a clear picture in each corporator seat of India's biggest and richest civic body will emerge only after the last date of withdrawal of candidature on January 2.

Going by pre-poll scenarios, constituents of the ruling Mahayuti and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are main contenders to rule the civic body with an annual budget of more than Rs 74,000 crore, but regional and smaller parties are also in the ring and determined to make their presence felt at the local level of urban governance.

The BJP and Shiv Sena, constituents of Mahayuti, are contesting 137 and 90 seats, respectively. The third Mahayuti ally NCP is fighting independently and has fielded 94 candidates, meaning the party will take on its state-level partners in nearly 100 seats if no nominations are taken back.

The Opposition Congress has put up 143 candidates, while its new ally Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), led by former MP Prakash Ambedkar, has fielded 42 contestants even through it was allotted 62 seats in a pre-poll pact with the national outfit.

The Rashtriya Samaj Paksh (RSP), a Congress ally, has fielded six candidates.

The Shiv Sena (UBT), led by former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, is contesting over 150 seats, NCP (SP) 11 and Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) the rest.

The Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP) and Congress are members of the MVA at the state-level.

Performance of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS will be keenly watched after the coming together of the Thackeray cousins who are fighting the polls together on Marathi pride plank.

Others in the fray include the Samajwadi Party and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who haven't allied with anyone. PTI MR RSY