BJP, Sena to start seat-sharing talks

MUMBAI: The BJP and Shiv Sena have formally decided to begin seat-sharing talks for the BMC elections.

BJP leaders led by its Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar and others held a meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday where it was decided to initiate seat sharing talks with its ally, the Shiv Sena.

While there are nine other municipal bodies besides the BMC, the latter is always the prized one as the civic body has an annual budget of Rs 39,000 crore, which makes it vital for regional parties like the Shiv Sena to aspire for the BMC.

The Sena has stayed politically relevant all these years because it ruled BMC for more than two decades Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, while speaking to reporters, said that he has always been open to talks, adding that both parties would nominate three people to set the talks in motion.

“The preliminary talks could be held between these leaders, while me and Fadnavis would also be involved in the process,” said Uddhav. The BJP wants close to a 100 seats out of the possible 227.