Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 17: Taking recourse to resort politics, the Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde has moved his newly-elected Shiv Sena members of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to a star hotel in Bandra fearing poaching in view of the slender majority the “Mahayuti” has earned in the civic body in the elections held on Thursday.
Besides that the BJP- Shiv Sena (Shinde) combine has secured a majority of only four seats in the 227-member BMC, the fear of poaching also emerged from the address a defiant Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray delivered to his newly-elected members insisting that it remained his “dream” to see a Shiv Sena (UBT) mayor elected in Mumbai despite losing control of India’s richest civic body.
Under the prevailing circumstances, Mumbai is in all probability get for the first time a BJP mayor considering that the saffron party has won 89 seats to Shinde Shiv Sena’s 29 unless the deputy chief minister could bargain hard. But Mr Shinde who had failed to ensure the chief minister’s post for himself after the state Assembly elections and had to step down and accept deputy’s post to BJP chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is unlikely to get the mayor’s post though his party’s support was must for the BJP to keep control of the BMC.
Sources have indicated two major angles to the resort politics including a possibility of poaching before the Mahayuti takes over control of the country’s richest civic body. The BJP-Sena combine swept the recent BMC elections, comfortably surpassing the majority mark, snatching power from the Thackerays after 25 years. However, no party has a majority on its own.
Addressing Sena (UBT) workers in Mumbai, Uddhav Thackeray sought to recast the loss of the BMC not as a defeat but as a morale-boosting outcome achieved under difficult circumstances. “You all are the true architects of this success; we are merely a medium. The result that has come in such circumstances is truly a matter of pride,” he said, repeatedly praising party cadres for standing by the organisation despite scarce resources.
Launching a sharp attack on the BJP and the ruling alliance, Thackeray accused them of misusing power and winning the civic polls through “betrayal.” “They believe they have finished Shiv Sena on paper, but they can never destroy the Shiv Sena that exists on the ground. They can never remain connected to the ground,” he said, alleging that every tactic – “saam, daam, dand, bhed” – was deployed against his party. “The traitors left, but they could not buy loyalty,” he added.
In one of his strongest remarks, Thackeray alleged that the BJP had “mortgaged Mumbai” to secure victory. “Those who have won through betrayal have done so by mortgaging Mumbai. The Marathi people will never forgive this sin,” he told workers, reiterating that the Sena (UBT) remained the true representative of the Marathi manoos.
In the 227-member BMC, the majority mark stands at 114. The BJP has won 89 seats and the Eknath Shinde–led Shiv Sena 29, taking the ruling alliance to 118, just four seats above the halfway mark. Besides, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party, which had contested solo despite being in the Mahayuti, won three seats.
On the Opposition side, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Nirman Sena (MNS), led by the Thackeray cousins, and NCP (Sharad Pawar) fought together. While Sena (UBT) finished second with 65 seats, MNS bagged six seats, and NCP (SP) one. Together, their strength stands at 72. Separately, the Congress won in 24 wards, AIMIM in eight, and the Samajwadi Party in two. In a scenario where the entire Opposition camp decides to unite to prevent the BJP-led alliance from taking over the BMC, the strength would further go up to 106, just eight short of the majority mark.
Here arises the fear of horse-trading and defections. If the Opposition side manages to convince just eight corporators from Mahayuti side to join them, the Thackerays and their allies could stall the expected BJP takeover of the BMC. With margins thin and the stakes high ahead of the mayoral election in India’s richest civic body, Shinde has moved his newly elected corporators to a hotel to guard against poaching or last-minute defections that could upset the arithmetic and complicate control of the civic house.
Party leaders said the move was a precautionary step to prevent poaching at a time when the numbers are close and the mayoral contest is imminent. There is also pressure within the party to not compromise on the mayor’s post, they said, indicating that this move could be aimed at leveraging the bargaining power with the BJP. The move by Shinde is also being seen as a strategy to up his bargaining power with the BJP, said sources, as the Shiv Sena eyes the BMC mayor’s post despite being a junior partner in the alliance.
Being in the kingmaker position, the Shinde camp wants a Sena corporator to get the prestigious post, said sources. The post has traditionally been with the Sena and a group of corporators want it to remain with them, they indicated. There is pressure on the deputy chief minister from within his party, they stressed, adding that several corporators don’t want him to compromise over the mayoral post. The united Sena had been in power at the BMC for 25 years before the BJP’s record victory in the recent elections.
In the opposition camp, the Thackeray cousins have vowed to continue their Marathi identity politics. “This fight isn’t over yet,” read a post by Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), sharing a photo of the late Balasaheb Thackeray, who had championed the Marathi cause in state politics.
Pursuing the Marathi cause, the cousins promised a better life to Mumbai’s residents, but yesterday’s results dealt a setback to what was expected to be a new chapter in Thackeray politics. Raj Thackeray, who mirrors his uncle – the firebrand Bal Thackeray – said the defeat did not mean he would lose heart and give up. “If anything is seen happening against the Marathi people, our corporators will surely bring those in power to their knees,” he thundered, though his MNS could win only six seats.
“Our fight is for the Marathi people, for the Marathi language, for Marathi identity, and for a prosperous Maharashtra. This fight itself is our very existence. You are well aware that such struggles are long-term in nature,” he said. Raj Thackeray also accused the Mahayuti of harassing and exploiting Marathis, underlining the significance of his struggle.
“Whether in the MMR region or across the entire state, the ruling powers and those who have gone under their shelter will not leave a single opportunity to harass and exploit the Marathi people. Therefore, we must stand firmly behind our Marathi people. Elections will come and go, but we must never forget that our very breath is Marathi,” he said. The MNS will analyse and act on whatever went wrong and was left undone, he added, vowing to rebuild the party from scratch.
Spokespersons from the Shinde faction and other leaders have also already indicated that “the mayor of Mumbai should be from the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) because it is Balasaheb’s (Bal Thackeray’s) legacy,” referring to the undivided Sena’s long rule in the BMC. Speaking after the results were largely clear, Shinde appeared more guarded. “Our agenda is development. We fought as the Mahayuti and will sit together to decide what is best in the interest of Mumbai,” he said, while replying to a question on who would be mayor.
The open-ended answer made some political analysts wonder whether this meant a middle path could be in the offing, with Shinde pushing for someone from his party to serve as mayor for 2.5 years, with the BJP getting the remaining half of the term. The one thing that may work in favour of the BJP, the analysts said, could be the Shinde Sena’s stellar show in its party chief’s bastion of Thane. With over 70 seats, the party is comfortably over the majority mark of 66 in the 131-member Thane Municipal Corporation and can elect its own mayor since the BJP has only 28 members.
As a satellite city of Mumbai, Thane carries its own heft, and this may make Shinde settle for his party members heading major committees in the BMC, including the all-important standing committee. “Either way, if Shinde easily concedes the mayor’s post to the BJP, it could send the wrong message to his party workers. Therefore, at the very least, intense behind-the-scenes negotiations over the deputy mayor’s position, the Standing Committee chairmanship, and important wards are considered almost certain,” said an analyst.