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The Shinde-led Shiv Sena won 29 seats in the 227-member civic body, a modest tally but one that proved critical in helping the BJP-led alliance cross the majority mark
Party sources said the corporators will be taken to Taj Lands End at 3pm, where they will stay for the next three days. (PTI)
In a move aimed at keeping its flock together amid heightened political churn after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, all newly elected corporators of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena were shifted to a luxury hotel in Bandra on Saturday.
Party sources said the corporators will be taken to Taj Lands End at 3pm, where they will stay for the next three days. The decision comes in the immediate aftermath of the BMC results and against the backdrop of apprehensions of poaching, a familiar feature of Maharashtra’s fractured political landscape.
The Shinde-led Shiv Sena won 29 seats in the 227-member civic body, a modest tally but one that proved critical in helping the BJP-led alliance cross the majority mark. With the BJP emerging as the single-largest party, the alliance is now set to take control of the country’s richest municipal corporation.
Sources indicated that the move to house corporators together is intended to ensure unity within the party as discussions begin on key decisions, including coordination with the BJP, the mayoral election and the distribution of responsibilities in the new civic administration. The three-day stay will also allow senior leaders to brief corporators on alliance strategy and governance priorities.
The step gains significance as the BMC verdict has reignited the Sena vs Sena political battle, with Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) accusing the Shinde faction of weakening the party’s traditional base and enabling the BJP’s historic entry into the BMC’s top post. With political temperatures high and rival camps sharpening their attacks, leaders are keen to prevent any internal drift.
While there has been no official comment from the party on fears of defections, insiders acknowledged that keeping corporators together in the crucial post-poll period is seen as a precautionary measure, particularly as negotiations over power-sharing and civic leadership intensify.
The Mahayuti alliance secured control of 25 of the 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra. In Mumbai’s civic body, the BJP–Shiv Sena combine won 118 of the 227 wards, comfortably crossing the majority threshold of 114. Of these, the BJP emerged victorious in 89 wards, while the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena won 29.
The BJP-Shinde alliance is expected to move swiftly in the coming days to formalise control over the civic body, even as opposition parties continue to question the mandate and the political realignments that followed the Shiv Sena split.
January 17, 2026, 14:44 IST
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