MUMBAI: The BJP and Shiv Sena bargained for every seat in the BMC and the negotiations dragged on for over a week but in the end the Mahayuti is not fighting on four seats in the civic polls. Political observers said that this was surprising as the Mahayuti is pitted against the Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS combine and Congress-VBA alliance in a fierce battle where every seat out of the 227 matters.
The Shiv Sena did not release an official list of candidates even after the last day of withdrawal of nominations. The Mahayuti does not have candidates in Ward Nos. 145, 167, 211 and 212. Two of these were for Sena and two for BJP.“BJP-Shinde Sena alliance maintained great secrecy to prevent rebels from filing nomination. But it seems the alliance itself suffered a setback as there are no candidates in four wards. Out of the 227 wards, Mahayuti has candidates in 223 wards only. It is surprising considering each ward was part of the negotiation and was bargained hard,” an observer said. “On one hand, there was an attempt that Mahayuti candidates should be elected unopposed in many cities in the state and in south Mumbai. But giving up four wards without a fight shows there was poor management by Mahayuti,” the observer added.Observers said it is always a tactic to file a dummy or back-up candidate nomination along with the official candidate. “This is because if the official candidate’s nomination is rejected for some reason, the dummy candidate’s application becomes official and he contests the election. This is what the Shiv Sena (UBT) has done in some wards like Mulund. It seems the dummy or back-up candidate’s application was not filed due to confusion and secrecy in seat allocation,” the observer said.
