MUMBAI: The Mumbai BJP unit said it has finalised a seat-sharing formula of 150:50:27 for the 227-member Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election, Asia’s largest and richest civic body, scheduled for January 15 next year.
Under the formula, the BJP plans to contest 150 seats, while 50 seats have been offered to Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde–led Shiv Sena, and 27 seats to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar–led NCP, if it comes on board. However, sources said Shinde has not exactly confirmed the deal and sources close to the Deputy CM said the party is studying the offer.
The seat-sharing arrangement was discussed at a meeting between BJP Mumbai unit president and MLA Amit Satam and Shiv Sena minister Uday Samant. Speaking after the meeting, Satam said there was no disagreement over the BJP contesting 150 seats and that talks on the remaining seats would be held, with issues expected to be resolved soon. It is possible that the Ajit Pawar NCP may get only 10 seats with the remaining going to the Shiv Sena.
Sources said the BJP is keen to contest more than 150 seats in the BMC polls. The party has argued that it won 84 seats in the previous election and performed strongly in over 50 additional seats where its candidates lost due to internal rebellion. When the votes of official BJP candidates and rebels are combined together, the tally exceeds that of non-BJP candidates in many of these wards, strengthening the party’s claim to contest more seats in Mumbai.
“Overall, the BJP has staked a claim to more than 150 seats, while being ready to allot 50 seats to the Shiv Sena. The remaining 27 seats would go to the Ajit Pawar–led NCP if the issue related to Nawab Malik’s leadership is resolved,” a highly placed source said.
The Eknath Shinde–led Shiv Sena, was expecting about 90 seats and is likely that it will stake its claim over seats alloted to the NCP led by Ajit Pawar. There are some seats which the BJP has claimed, which the Shiv Sena wants. Its is likely some adjustments will be made in the next few days, before the deal is sealed, sources said.
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