A police official stands in front of the illuminated Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Highlights
- Shiv Sena, which has been in power in BMC for several terms, may go solo this time
- Civic polls in Mumbai will take place in late March or early April
- Shiv Sena is confident that it will win more than 100 seats on its own
The Shiv Sena is prepared to go solo in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections and win more than 100 seats on its own, party leader Anil Desai said on Wednesday.
Taking cognisance of media reports that claimed that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will contest the Pune municipal elections on its own, Desai said the Shiv Sena, which has been in power in BMC for several terms, may therefore go solo.
"In Maharashtra, we are in alliance with the Congress and the NCP...But today, NCP leadership in Pune announced that they will be going all alone. We were always in the range of 100 seats in BMC, and this time we are prepared to go alone in BMC elections," Desai told reporters outside Parliament.
However, the Shiv Sena will contest elections in alliance with the NCP in the Goa Assembly polls as announced, he said. The delimitation exercise increased the total seats in the BMC from 227 to 236 in 24 wards.
Civic polls in Mumbai are to take place in late March or early April. Of the 227 seats currently, the Shiv Sena has 97 seats, while the BJP has 83, Congress 29, NCP 8, Samajwadi Party six seats, All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen has two and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has one seat.
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