The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance and the Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena will have a direct contest in at least 32 of the 227 seats in the Mumbai civic body, as no strong third-front candidate will be in the fray on these seats.
The Mahayuti alliance includes the BJP and Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde. After a wait of 20 years, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS under Raj Thackeray have come together to “preserve” the Marathi language and culture.
32 seats without a third-front contestant
News agency quoting sources reported that the Congress-Bahujan Vanchit Aghadi (VBA) alliance has not put up any candidates in these seats after VBA faced difficulties in fielding candidates in 21 of the 62 seats allotted to it in Mumbai. The VBA chose not to risk the seats by nominating unsuitable candidates in some constituencies, while issues related to incomplete documents cropped up in others, the report said.
Realising the problem, the VBA informed the Congress on Tuesday morning that it would contest only five of those seats and allowed the Congress to field its candidates on the remaining 16 seats, the PTI report said.
The Congress has so far announced 143 candidates in Mumbai.
With the VBA contesting in 46 seats, and six seats being allotted to other allies, including Left parties and the Rashtriya Samaj Party, the Congress-led alliance has put up candidates in 195 seats.
This arrangement leaves 32 seats without a third-front contestant, ensuring no division of votes. “This situation could benefit the Thackerays as anti-BJP votes will not split,” a senior Sena (UBT) leader said, adding that the final picture would emerge after the scrutiny of nominations.
‘Absolutely no dispute between us’
The Congress and the VBA have rejected reports of a possible rift within the alliance in Mumbai after 16 seats from the VBA’s quota allegedly remained uncontested by either party.
“Since the announcement of our alliance, the ruling side has been losing ground. There is absolutely no dispute between us. On the contrary, our workers and leaders remain in constant communication without any glitch,” Mumbai Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said.
The VBA also dismissed reports of discord over seat-sharing. Party spokesperson Siddharth Mokle said ruling parties sponsored such claims. “The Congress knew well in advance that the VBA would not contest those 16 seats. The Congress took appropriate action, and the reality will become clear to everyone once the scrutiny of nominations concludes,” he said.
