Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday said that surveys showed that his ally, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) was poised to get more seats in the upcoming BMC election.Speaking in Nagpur during a two-day NCP conclave, Mr. Pawar, the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly said there was “a sympathy” for the Sena (UBT) faction in Mumbai city due to the manner in which former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government (of the NCP, the Congress and Mr. Thackeray’s Sena faction) was toppled after the present CM and ‘rebel’ Sena leader Eknath Shinde’s intra-party revolt in June last year.
“It has been the BJP’s dream for many years to come to power in the BMC. Everyone knows that when the [undivided] Shiv Sena under Bal Thackeray took control of the BMC decades ago, it was only then that the party began to expand in the Konkan region and other parts of Maharashtra. Moreover, the BMC has a budget greater than that of many states in the country. But, there is sympathy for the [Thackeray-led] Shiv Sena in Mumbai city because of the manner in which Uddhav Thackeray was deposed as CM last year. Even the surveys show more seats for the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT),” said Mr. Pawar.Pawar said the people of Mumbai sympathise with Uddhav Thackeray after the rebellion in his party forced him to step down as chief minister last year. The former deputy chief minister added that he has discussed the idea with Thackeray and the latter has agreed to think over the proposal. “The people of Mumbai sympathise with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena. The NCP does not have much strength in Mumbai city. Only a few of our MLAs and a few corporators get elected from Mumbai. Therefore, we have requested Uddhav Thackeray to face the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections together,” Pawar said. In June 2022, a bulk of Shiv Sena MLAs and MPs rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray and joined the faction led by Eknath Shinde, which was later recognised as the real Shiv Sena by the Election Commission of India.