The party’s district presidents submitted the list of probable candidates to city unit chief Ashish Shelar late last week. This is the first time that the party has openly sought names for all 227 seats across the city, not taking into account the seats that will have to be left for the Sena in case the alliance continues.
As part of its exercise to be ready to contest all 227 seats, all district presidents have been asked to form election committees for every ward, each comprising 13 members. Each member will be assigned specific duties like campaigning, fund collection, publicity, and taking charge of booth and voters’ list.
The district presidents have been asked to prepare ward-wise election manifestos, taking into account local issues. The district presidents are expected to complete the exercise of forming the election committees by the end of the week.
However, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is keen to keep the tie-up intact, said a source. “At stake is not just the future of the party in BMC elections, but the state government’s stability too,” the source said. The Shiv Sena is a part of the Fadnavis-led government in the state. A section of Sena leaders too believes that the tie-up with the BJP for BMC elections may have outlived its utility. A senior Sena leader, who didn’t want to be named, said that while his party does not want to break the alliance, there is no chance of the party agreeing to give the BJP more than 90 seats.
While the BJP’s city unit chief Ashish Shelar was not available for comment on Tuesday, he has maintained that though no talks with the Sena have begun, a decision on the alliance will be taken by Fadnavis.
Former legislator and Mumbai BJP spokesman Atul Shah too said the decision on continuing the alliance will be taken by the state leadership.
