Mumbai will get Mahayuti mayor: Eknath Shinde; 'People chose development over emotional issues'

Mumbai, Jan 18 (PTI) Mumbai will have a Mahayuti mayor, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Sunday after interacting with newly-elected Shiv Sena members of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), who have been shifted to a hotel.

Shinde’s assertion comes amid speculation over the decision to move 29 corporators-designate of his party to a hotel after the BJP–Shiv Sena alliance secured a narrow majority in the recent civic polls.

Taking a dig at Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Shinde said voters had chosen development over emotional issues.

"Mumbai will have a Mahayuti mayor. Even neighbouring cities like Kalyan-Dombivli will have a Mahayuti mayor," he told reporters.

Rejecting allegations that the corporators were being kept under watch at a luxury hotel, Shinde said the Shiv Sena was fearless.

"The new corporators will get a common platform to interact at the hotel. I wanted to meet them as we are registering the group of 29 corporators with the Konkan divisional commissioner," he said.

Amid speculation in political circles over Shiv Sena's stand vis-a-vis the next mayor of Mumbai, party leader and minister Uday Samant said the civic body polls were contested as the Mahayuti alliance.

"The Shiv Sena will not do what the earlier Shiv Sena (headed by Uddhav Thackeray when he allied with the Congress after the 2019 polls) did," he said.

When asked about demands from within the party for the mayor’s post, Samant said, "Every party wants the main post, and Bal Thackeray's (birth) centenary year gives that demand a different dimension." In a swipe at the Opposition, Samant said many corporators will become not-reachable, and people will realise which party they belonged to.

Addressing the newly elected members, Shinde said people had rejected the Shiv Sena (UBT) and urged them to utilise the opportunity to serve citizens.

He asked them to prepare ward-specific development action plans and ensure that their wards become model constituencies. Shinde also cautioned them against any conduct that could tarnish the party’s image.

"People have rejected the Shiv Sena (UBT) and those who oppose development," he said.

Shinde noted that the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the civic polls, followed by the Shiv Sena, calling the results a precursor to the upcoming Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections.

In the recently concluded civic polls, the alliance of the BJP and Shinde-led Sena won a clear majority in the 227-member BMC, securing 89 and 29 seats, respectively. The Sena (UBT) won 65 seats, while its ally MNS emerged victorious on six.

Shinde further appealed to newly-elected Sena members to follow up on schemes like 'pagdi-free Mumbai', which refers to a plan to overhaul the old, problematic pagdi (tenant-ownership) system, aiming to clear stuck redevelopments. PTI PR NSK