BJP is trying to get the BMC mayoral appointment date changed to March 8 in the hope of disrupting the Shiv Sena, Congress alliance in the state
Uddhav Thackeray, Sanjay Nirupam and Devendra Fadnavis
What do the Uttar Pradesh polls have to do with Mumbai’s mayoral election? A lot, if you believe BJP insiders. The party is hustling to get the mayoral election advanced by a day to March 8 because it feels that the Congress would not risk hampering its chances in the last phase of the UP elections (to be conducted on March 8) by tying up with Shiv Sena, a saffron party, in Mumbai.
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With the Congress, the NCP, the MNS, the SP and the AIMIM refusing to support the BJP, the Sena is placed comfortably well to stake a claim to the coveted post of the mayor, the election to which is scheduled for March 9. Although the Congress has made it clear that it would not support the Sena -- it has ruled out any alliance with the BJP -- some party leaders feel that it should back the Shiv Sena to keep the BJP at bay.
Fearing that the Congress could turn fickle and support the Sena a day after the last phase of the UP elections, the BJP has drawn up a strategy to sabotage the "Sena-Congress fixing”, and is now demanding that the election be held on March 8, said a BJP insider.
"If the election is held on March 9, the Congress can help the Sena since the UP polls will be over by then. But, if the election is held on March 8, coinciding with the last phase of the UP polls, the Congress won’t dare make the mistake of tying up with a right-wing party since it would cost them dearly in the crucial UP elections,” said the BJP functionary.
BMC tilts in its favour
The BJP might get its way. The civic administration is mulling over advancing the election date, said an official from the municipal secretary’s office. “We are looking into whether the election can be held on March 8, instead of March 9.”
To disrupt the BJP’s strategy to throw a spanner in its works, some Shiv Sena leaders are preparing to meet the State Election Commission very soon to get the BMC to go by the scheduled plan.
“The BJP can stoop to any level to stop the Shiv Sena from installing its mayor. But, we will not allow BJP leaders to succeed in their plan,” said a Shiv Sena leader.
Could cause chaos
Political rivalries apart, some BMC officials feel that advancing the election date could muddle up the poll process. “Corporators elected in 2012 have identity cards valid till March 8. Technically, the house has not been dissolved. So, the current set of corporators will attend the house and insist on voting for the mayor. That’s why the BMC should stick to the original date,” said another civic official.
The Sena-BJP coalition, the oldest political alliance in Indian history, was put to an end by the saffron parties after they failed to ink a seat-sharing deal for the civic election. Neither of them touched the magic figure of 115 seats in the BMC election -- the Sena bagged 84 and the BJP 82 -- turning the fight for the mayor’s post a battle of one-upmanship. If none reaches 115 (including with the backing of independents and other supporters), then the party with the single largest number will install its mayor.
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