Maharashtra Municipal Polls: Mahayuti Finalises Seat-Sharing Pact After Late-Night Talks – Delhi News Daily

The meeting was held at Eknath Shinde’s residence in Thane and continued till around 4am. (News18)

The Mahayuti alliance has finalised its seat-sharing formula for the municipal polls following a five-hour marathon meeting between Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde and BJP’s Maharashtra president Ravindra Chavan. The meeting was held at Shinde’s residence in Thane and continued till around 4am.

The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance for municipal corporations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), including Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli and other key civic bodies, has now reached its final stage. With the broad seat-sharing formula agreed upon, discussions on ward-level candidates will take place at the local level over the next two days.

An official announcement regarding the alliance’s seat-sharing arrangement is expected soon.

Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, MP Naresh Mhaske, and party general secretary Rahul Shewale were present during the discussions.

In a fillip to the alliance this month, the Mahayuti swept the elections to 288 municipal councils and nagar panchayats, securing 207 posts of presidents of local bodies. The Mahayuti behemoth restricted the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi to a collective tally of 44.

News18 had reported on Tuesday that in Mumbai and several other major cities, indications suggest that the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shinde Sena are likely to contest together. However, Pune could witness a straight contest between the BJP and the Nationalist Congress Party led by Ajit Pawar faction, making it one of the most keenly watched battlegrounds. Thane district, which has the highest number of municipal corporations at six, remains a sensitive zone. Here, negotiations between the BJP and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena are still marked by tension, with both sides pushing hard for favourable seat distribution.

On the opposition side, attention is firmly on the proposed alliance between the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. Talks between Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray are said to be in the final stages and an official announcement is expected on Wednesday. Sources indicate that a long-pending deadlock over three wards in Sewri has been resolved, with two seats going to the Thackeray-led Sena and one to the MNS.

Sources indicate that the Mahayuti will announce its seat-sharing plan after the Thackeray brothers’ announcement of a formal alliance.