Aspirants disheartened at announcement of contesting civic elections as Mahayuti alliance

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

BJP leader and revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule has made it clear that the municipal corporation elections would be contested as the Mahayuti. He advised the local core committee on Wednesday during a review meeting at BJP’s Chikalthana divisional office that no one should adopt a disruptive stance. This guidance left many aspirants for the municipal elections disappointed, and also unsettled the core committee.

BJP is reportedly under pressure from the Shinde Sena. The proposal to allocate seats according to the 2015 formula, followed by a 50-50 division of remaining seats, has made BJP uneasy. During the seat-sharing meeting, the main question being considered is who holds the dominant position in the grand alliance. Senior leaders’ recommendation for a Mahayuti has also dampened the enthusiasm of many BJP aspirants.

Alliance environment

Out of 29 prabhags, 18 prabhags are favourable for the Mahayuti. If seats in these wards are divided 50-50, BJP and Shinde Sena would each get 36 seats. The consideration of NCP (Ajit Pawar) and RPI groups has not yet been factored in.

Tough competition

In the 18 prabhags (72 seats) within the Mahayuti, there is fierce competition between Shinde Sena and BJP. The remaining 11 prabhags (44 seats) have a Muslim-majority voter base, where neither party has strong candidates. Since elections haven’t been held in these areas for 10 years, many aspirants are eager to contest. This explains why forming the grand alliance requires careful negotiation. In the recent municipal elections, no alliance was formed due to inflated expectations among candidates; a similar situation may arise in the upcoming election, noted a BJP leader.

Implications of an Alliance

If the alliance is finalised between BJP, Shinde Sena, and other constituent parties, several aspirants from both parties are likely to be left disappointed. There are 29 prabhags in total: 10 in East, 8 in West, 9 in Central, and 2 in Phulambri assembly constituencies. A large number of aspirants exist in all these wards, with nearly 2,200 applications received by both parties. There is concern that those who don’t get nominations might rebel or join rival fronts.

Minister Bawankule’s statements

Core Committee member Shirish Boralkar said, “ Minister Bawankule today said that elections should be contested in alliance (Mahayuti). Following this, the core committee conducted preliminary discussions. Further meetings will be held before final decisions are taken.”

“The party’s stance is to contest elections within the Mahayuti. No decisions should be taken that may create disruptions. Minister Bawankule during Wednesday’s meeting told this,” said the election chief Sameer Rajurkar.

“The 2015 formula is now obsolete. Circumstances have changed, and seat allocation should be considered afresh under the ‘new contender, new rules’ principle, which will guide the Mahayuti discussions,” said former mayor Bapu Ghadmode.