"Shiv Sena (UBT)–MNS Alliance Announcement in 2–3 Days": Sanjay Raut Ahead of Municpal Corporations Elections

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said alliance talks with the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) had reached the final stage and an official announcement would be made in two to three days. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Raut said seat-sharing details will be revealed soon. He added Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray will make the formal announcement within a day or two. "The series of meetings has concluded; meetings were held between Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. Our alliance will be announced by tomorrow or the day after, including details of how many seats each party will contest. Uddhav and Raj Thackeray will announce this soon," he said.

Raut said efforts are ongoing to include the Congress in the alliance. He described Congress as a constituent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and said discussions have been held with party leaders in Delhi. "Our efforts to bring the Congress party along will continue until the very last moment. The Congress is a constituent party of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance. We tried to convince them--we spoke to their leaders in Delhi, and we also communicated with their high command. We are still trying to persuade them, but there is no bitterness between us. Even if they are contesting separately, we are fundamentally united," he said as quoted by ANI.

The Maharashtra State Election Commission has scheduled elections for 29 municipal corporations across the state, including Brihanmumbai, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Polling will be held on January 15 and counting on January 16.

Meanwhile, the Mahayuti alliance, led by the BJP along with Shiv Sena and NCP, has performed strongly in recent local body elections across 286 municipalities and nagar panchayats.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis thanked the people of Maharashtra for their support. He said approximately 129 municipal council chairpersons were elected from the BJP and added all three alliance parties account for 75 percent of council heads. Fadnavis described the result as confirmation that the BJP remains the number one party in the state.

"First of all, I thank the people of Maharashtra. The people of the state have given massive support to the BJP and the Mahayuti. I had already predicted that out of all the municipal council chairpersons elected, 75% would be from the Mahayuti, and the people have delivered exactly that verdict. It has also become clear that the Bharatiya Janata Party is the number one party. So far, around 129 municipal council chairpersons have been elected from the BJP. Together, all three alliance parties account for 75% of the city council chairpersons. In terms of corporators, the BJP has created a record: 3300 corporators have been elected. This shows the massive public support we have received," Fadnavis said as quoted by ANI. 

"I congratulate our allies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, whose parties have also performed very well. Our performance has matched that of the Assembly elections. I also congratulate Ravindra Chavan, under whose leadership these elections were successfully conducted. Former president Bawankule, cabinet colleagues, and party workers — all have worked extremely hard. The coordination between the organisation and the party was excellent, and that is why we achieved this victory. This result is even better than 2017, and such a victory has not been seen in Maharashtra in the last 30–35 years," he added.