The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s 31 corporators of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a meeting on Saturday decided to support Shiv Sena candidate and state minister for environment, Ramdas Kadam for the biennial Member of Legislative Council (MLC) election to be held on December 27. BJP has decided to not vote for candidate from any other party, clarifying doubts in political circles on who the BJP would support if not Shiv Sena. In the wake of this decision the chances of the Congress’ candidate from Mumbai, Bhai Jagtap, have become gloomy.
“It was decided today in a joint meeting that the BJP corporators will give their preference to the Shiv Sena candidate Ramdas Kadam and not any other candidate from other party. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has asked us to stay together and there is no chance of BJP keeping any second candidate preference in mind,” said Ashish Shelar, Mumbai BJP president.
However, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) supremo Raj Thackeray has asked all his 28 corporators in House to abstain from voting for the MLC elections. The calculations in case of MNS abstaining the quota for winning will come down to 63. Currently, the Shiv Sena has 75 corporators and the BJP has 31 corporators.
Welcoming the move, Mr Kadam, said, “The friendship of both the BJP and Shiv Sena is very old and it cannot broken. The council election has normalised relation of both parties and we are anticipating victory. I further thank Mr Fadnavis and Uddhav Thackeray for the same.” Meanwhile sources from the BJP revealed that even if the corporators have to decide on the second preference vote, it will be Prasad Lad from the NCP who has filed nomination independently and not the Congress’s Jagtap.
Congress has 52 corporators in the House and Samajwadi Party (SP) with 8 corporators has assured its support, followed by 14 corporators of NCP and five independents for the second seat.
“SP will support Bhai Jagtap of Congress to check rising intolerance and attacks on secular forces, which is the need of hour to defeat the communal forces in the country,” said Abu Azmi, MLA and president of SP Maharashtra.
The 227 corporators from the BMC form the electoral college for the two seats from Mumbai. Apart from Mumbai, election to the Legislative Council will be held for one seat each in Solapur, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Ahmednagar, Dhule-Nandurbar and Akola-Washim-Buldhana self government local bodies.
