Suspense continues over election of Mumbai mayor

As the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena refused to blink, the opposition, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party are keen to take the benefit, reports Sanjay Jog.

After the bitter fight, there is still no sign of rapprochement between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena for the revival of an alliance in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Instead, both are making claims about winning the mayoral election slated for March 9.

The Shiv Sena on Monday targeted Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his statement that the BJP will never ally with the Congress to assume power in the BMC.

Sena MP Sanjay Raut asked the BJP to first break its alliance with the Congress at the local level and criticised the BJP for sharing power with the People's Democratic Party in Jammu and Kashmir.

"The BJP, who gave a call for the Congress free India should not criticise the latter especially when the BJP does not feel the PDP is untouchable," he noted.

Raut's outburst comes close on the heels of BJP leaders asking the Shiv Sena not to join hands with the Congress to win the mayoral election in the BMC. BJP minister Chandrakant Patil opined that the BJP and the Shiv Sena are natural allies and termed Sena's alliance with the Congress will be "unholy" and it won't be accepted by people at large.

Further, veteran BJP leader and former state revenue minister Eknath Khadse on Monday hinted that the party corporator will be next Mumbai mayor. However, he declined to divulge details relating to the BJP getting the adequate numbers for the same.

• No surprises if the Sena-BJP form a post poll alliance

Interestingly, the opposition, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party are keen to take the benefit out of a widening rift between the BJP and the Shiv Sena.

The Congress with 31 corporators has declared that it won't support the Shiv Sena but can explore an option of fielding its own candidate in the mayoral election. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Ashok Chavan has clarified that his party would consider supporting the Shiv Sena in the mayoral poll only after the latter walks out of the BJP-led government in Maharashtra.

Former chief minister Narayan Rane, who deserted the Shiv Sena in 2005, alleged that the Shiv Sena won't leave the BJP-led government until it would be thrown out. He informed that the Congress and the NCP cannot move the no-confidence motion against the Maharashtra government unless and until the Shiv Sena joins them.

On its part, NCP chief Sharad Pawar announced that his party will not extend support to the BJP in the mayoral election but added that the local party unit will decide whether or not to support the Shiv Sena.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, whose offer for the pre-poll alliance was rejected by the Shiv Sena, on Monday jumped into the ongoing tussle hinting that party's decision will be in the interest of Marathi pride. MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar said the party chief Raj Thackeray will take a final call on supporting the Shiv Sena but added that party's decision will be for the benefit of Marathi Manoos.

The Shiv Sena won 84 seats but has got support from four independents while the BJP with 82 seats has been able to mobilise support from one independent. The Congress has won 31 seats, the NCP nine, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena seven while nine corporators are from smaller parties.