Shiv Sena, BJP seat-sharing talks for BMC polls in final stages, says Minister

The seat-sharing talks between the Shiv Sena and the BJP for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections are in the final stages, Maharashtra Minister Uday Samant has said.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Sawant said it is certain that the polls will be contested by the ruling parties as Mahayuti, and exuded confidence that the alliance will come to power in the BMC, Asia's largest civic body.

"Seat-sharing talks are in the final stages. Instead of talking about who gets how many seats, we are contesting 227 seats as Mahayuti," he said.


Taking a dig at the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Samant said some parties have allied to save their existence.

The BJP and Shiv Sena, led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, are keen on an alliance but are yet to announce the seat-sharing formula and details of their nominees. BMC has 227 civic wards.

A Sena leader had earlier said that deadlocks over seats persist between the two parties, and talks are still underway for the civic bodies in Mira Bhayander, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Kalyan Dombivli.

Elections to 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra will be held on January 15. The last date to file the nominations is December 30. PTI