or Shinde’s Shiv Sena, which fell behind its rival Shiv Sena-UBT in the elections, get a chance to appoint a mayor from its party?
Maharashtra Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis has made it clear that the new mayor of Mumbai will be from the Mahayuti. “God above has decided that there will be a Mahayuti Mayor,” the CM was quoted by PTI as saying.
BMC: How numbers stack up in 227 civic body?
A political party or an alliance needs to win 114 of the total 227 wards in the BMC. This is the halfway mark; the entity needs to win to appoint a mayor in the city.
So, after winning the high-stakes BMC polls, a question arises: Can the BJP choose its mayor without the Shiv Sena’s support, or what happens if Shiv Sena or the BJP join hands with other parties? The answer lies in the numbers. Here’s how numbers stack up for each party in the BMC – India’s richest civic body.
Mahayuti
BJP: 89
Shinde’s Shiv Sena: 29
They together have 118 corporators in the BMC – comfortably crossing the halfway mark.
The BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party in the VMC elections, needs the support of 25 more corporators to appoint a Mumbai mayor. So, the BJP may be put in a tough spot in case Shinde party corporators rebel and refuse to support the BJP.
Thackerays
Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT): 65
Raj Thackeray’s MNS: 6 seats
If Uddhav Thackeray joins hands with the BJP (they together have 154 seats, way above half-way mark), then also a mayor could be appointed.
Pawars, Congress and others
Ajit Pawar’s NCP: 3
Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP): 1
Congress: 24 seats
AIMIM: 8 seats
Samajwadi Party (SP): 2
What if all the Opposition parties join hands?
This means – what if the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), MNS, NCP (SP), Congress, AIMIM and SP join hands to appoint a mayor? (Ajit Pawar’s NCP, a part of Mahayuti, had decided to contest Maharashtra civic polls separately.)
In this case, the total corporators will add up to 109, and the alliance would still need the support of five more corporators to have a new Mumbai mayor. This means, even the Opposition could not do without the BJP or Shinde’s Shiv Sena.
So will Shiv Sena and BJP consensually appoint a new mayor? Or will the Opposition act up, or will the Sena revolt?
While this suspense continues, all eyes are on Shinde’s and the BJP’s next move.