Mumbai: Although it has broken its alliance with BJP, Shiv Sena continues its hold on Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). On Monday, Sena corporators Kishori Pednekar and Suhas Wadkar filed their nomination papers for the post of mayor and deputy mayor respectively.
Neither BJP nor the Congress-NCP corporators have filed nominations for the posts. "BJP has decided to not contest mayoral elections. We do not have sufficient numbers in BMC as of now.
So, we have decided to not compromise with the party ideology by joining the ranks with opposition parties. In 2022, BJP will have the numbers and win the mayoral poll on its own,” said Asish Shelar, BJP leader.
Shiv Sena has ruled the BMC for over two decades with BJP's support. BJP's decision to opt out of the race has paved the way for Sena to retain the mayor's post.
The BMC has a total of 227 corporators and the mayor is elected by them. At present, the Sena has 84 corporators, BJP 82. In 2017, BJP had backed Sena’s Vishwanath Mahadeshwar for the post.
According to leader of the opposition Ravi Raja, Congress does not have the numbers in the House to elect the mayor. Also, they have been directed by senior leaders not to field candidates.
"Staying away from mayoral poll does not mean that we are supporting Sena. The orders of not filing nominations have come from out senior leaders," Raja said.
