Mumbai's hotly contested mayor election faces a last-minute postponement, shifting from January 31 to early February as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shinde-led Shiv Sena grapple with incomplete group registrations. The snag stalls Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) leadership race, fuelling speculation over power-sharing in India's richest civic body.
Reservation announced, but registration bottleneck halts poll process
With mayor post reservations declared, BMC had geared up for voting on January 31. However, the process hit a wall: BJP and Shinde Shiv Sena corporators failed to finalize their group registrations, blocking electoral formalities.
Until all factions submit certificates to the municipal secretary's office, no mayor poll can proceed. Uddhav's Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS- controlling 65 corporators combined- completed registration swiftly, positioning them ahead while rivals lag.
February timeline emerges as BJP-Shinde alliance hangs in balance
Sources indicate the election now eyes February's first week, buying time for paperwork. Uncertainty swirls around BJP and Shinde Sena: Will they register a joint group or separate ones? The decision could tip mayoral control in the 227-member house.
This delay underscores Maharashtra's fractured politics post-civic polls, where alliances shift faster than deadlines. BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde) eye dominance, but procedural hiccups expose coordination woes.
Strategic standoff in BMC power play
The BMC, flush with Rs 60,000 crore budget, amplifies every delay's stakes. UBT-MNS bloc's readiness contrasts rivals' disarray, potentially forcing last-minute huddles. As February looms, Mumbai watches who clinches the mayor's gavel.
Uddhav Thackeray defies BJP
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray fired a defiant salvo at the BJP, declaring his faction unbreakable as an ideology embodying Mumbai's "sons of the soil." Speaking at his father Balasaheb Thackeray's centenary celebrations, he vowed that BJP's efforts to crush Shiv Sena would crumble against its enduring flame.
Ideology over party: Uddhav's fiery rallying cry
"Not just a party, Shiv Sena is an ideology, you cannot destroy it," Thackeray thundered to cheering workers. "Shiv Sena is the ember of the sons of the soil, the torch burning in the oppressed's hearts. BJP thinks it can finish us off? You absolutely cannot extinguish it." His words framed Shiv Sena (UBT) as an unkillable spirit, resilient beyond electoral blows.
Civic poll sweep hands BJP BMC control
The broadside follows Mahayuti's (BJP-Shiv Sena Shinde) rout in Maharashtra civic polls, clinching 25 of 29 corporations including BMC's 118 seats (majority: 114). BJP led with 89, Shinde Sena added 29, ending Thackeray clan's 30-year BMC reign. Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance mustered 65 UBT + 6 MNS seats (13.13% vote share), Congress grabbed 24 (4.44%), AIMIM surged with 8, and others trailed.
Opposition stands firm amid power shift
UBT's 7,17,736 votes kept it leading the opposition charge, with AIMIM's 68,072 votes signaling new Muslim voter inroads. Thackeray's defiance signals no surrender, positioning Shiv Sena as ideology trumping BJP's poll dominance in Mumbai's political battlefield.
