The Mahayuti alliance finalised its seat-sharing for the BMC polls, with the BJP to contest 137 seats and the Shiv Sena 90. Allied parties will be included in this formula. Meanwhile, the Congress-VBA alliance will see the VBA contest 62 seats.
Mahayuti Finalises Seat-Sharing Formula
The Mahayuti alliance on Monday finalised its seat-sharing formula for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)elections. As per the agreed arrangement, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will contest 137 seats, while the Shiv Sena will field candidates in 90 seats. Both parties will also allocate a portion of their respective quotas to allied parties within the Mahayuti alliance. Candidates from both the BJP and Shiv Sena are expected to file their nomination papers on Tuesday, according to the Shiv Sena press release.
Mumbai BJP president Ameet Bhaskar Satam revealed the seat-sharing agreement. He said the finalised arrangement will participate in joint campaigning in the coming days. "BJP- Shiv Sena Mahayuti's discussions have come to an end. We had arrived at a consensus for 207 seats earlier. After arriving at a consensus on all 227 seats, the BJP will contest 137 seats, and the Shiv Sena will contest 90. All our other allies will be included in this formula. In the coming days, we will take part in joint campaigning...," Satam told reporters.
Congress-VBA Alliance Details
Earlier, Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal announced that the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) will contest 62 of the 227 seats under the alliance in the BMC elections.
Sapkal said the BMC elections are not about a struggle for power for the Congress, adding that seat-sharing is not the party's primary concern. "Both parties are coming together. They will contest 62 seats. This is not a power struggle, but a convergence of ideas, and for us, seat sharing is not that important; we will go forward with the ideas," he told ANI.
Election Schedule Announced
The Maharashtra State Election Commission announced elections to 29 municipal corporations across the state, including Mumbai, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Polling for Mumbai's 227 wards will be held on January 15, with vote counting scheduled for January 16. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)