Mumbai: Republican Party of India (Athawale) president and Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday expressed strong displeasure over the Mahayuti’s seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, calling it a betrayal and an insult to party workers.
In a post on X, Athawale said that despite standing firmly and honestly with the Mahayuti since its formation, his party was sidelined during the seat-sharing process. He alleged that the manner in which the discussions were handled amounted to a breach of trust and hurt the self-respect of his party and its workers.
Athawale claimed that a meeting scheduled for discussions at 4 pm on Monday was not honoured by alliance partners. He said this was not merely a waste of time but an affront to the dignity of his party at a crucial moment, with the BMC elections just around the corner. He added that he would not tolerate any humiliation of party workers.
The RPI (Athawale) chief further stated that he would fully support any decision taken by his party workers in response to the developments, signalling possible discontent within the ruling alliance.
Mahayuti Finalises Seat-Sharing Formula
His remarks came a day after the Mahayuti finalised its seat-sharing formula for the BMC elections. As per the agreement, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will contest 137 of the 227 seats, while the Shiv Sena, led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, will field candidates in 90 wards.
Both parties may reportedly allocate a limited number of seats from their respective quotas to allied parties, though the final list of candidates is being kept confidential till the last moment. It has also been decided that AB forms will be distributed to candidates, following which nomination papers will be filed.
The seat-sharing arrangement is aimed at ensuring coordination between the BJP and the Shiv Sena and avoiding direct contests in most wards. Earlier on Monday, the BJP released its first list of 66 candidates for the upcoming civic polls.
Meanwhile, the State Election Commission of Maharashtra has announced the schedule for the BMC elections 2026. Voting for all 227 civic seats will be held on January 15, 2026, and the counting of votes and declaration of results will take place on January 16.
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