BMC polls: Athawale accuses BJP of sidelining RPI in seat-sharing

RPI chief Ramdas Athawale accused the BJP of 'betrayal' in BMC poll seat-sharing, claiming his party was sidelined and offered only six unwanted seats. The RPI will now contest 28 seats independently but remain part of the Mahayuti alliance.

RPI accuses BJP of sidelining party in seat-sharing talks

Republican Party of India (RPI) chief Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of sidelining his party during seat-sharing talks for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. Highlighting the RPI's political strength in Mumbai, Athawale said the reunion of the BJP and Shiv Sena had adversely affected his party's chances, adding that the RPI was not even included in seat-sharing discussions. He claimed that the party was informed very late that it had been allotted just six seats. "The coming together of the BJP and Shiv Sena created a problem in giving tickets to RPI. The Republican Party is a very strong party in Mumbai... But the BJP has ignored us... We were not called even once during the discussions. If the RPI had been called to the BJP-Shiv Sena discussions, some seats could have been allocated to us... Last night at 2 am, we were told that six seats had been given to us," Athawale told ANI.

'A huge betrayal': RPI to contest 28 seats independently

The Union Minister said the RPI had submitted a list of 26 seats to the BJP and was expecting an allocation of 14 to 15 seats. He termed the outcome a "betrayal" and announced that the RPI would contest 28 seats independently, using its own symbol, in Mumbai. Athawale also revealed that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis contacted him to inform that six seats had been allotted to the RPI. However, Athawale said those seats were not among the ones his party had requested and that the RPI did not have candidates in those constituencies. "From the list of 26 seats we had given, we expected 14-15 seats to be given to the RPI... This is a huge betrayal by the BJP. That is why we are contesting elections in 28 constituencies in Mumbai on the RPI symbol. The CM called me today and told me that they have given six seats to the RPI. But we told him that those are seats we didn't ask for. We don't have candidates there. He said, 'We have candidates, so they are your candidates. The symbol will be yours'," he said.

RPI to remain in Mahayuti alliance despite 'friendly elections'

Despite the disagreement, the RPI chief clarified that his party would continue to support the Mahayuti alliance. He stated that apart from the 38 seats where the RPI will contest "friendly elections," the party will campaign for BJP and Shiv Sena candidates in the remaining constituencies. "We will remain with Mahayuti. Leaving aside our 38 seats, we will campaign for the BJP and Shiv Sena candidates in the remaining constituencies and will definitely try to bring the Mahayuti to power. But we have decided to contest friendly elections in 38 constituencies," he said.

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