BMC polls: Ramdas Athawale calls exclusion from BJP-Shiv Sena seat-sharing deal 'betrayal of trust'

Ruling allies BJP and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena reached a seat-sharing agreement on Monday

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday said that his party, RPI(A), was excluded from the seat-sharing deal between the BJP and Shiv Sena for the upcoming Mumbai civic elections, terming their move as "betrayal of trust".

Ruling allies BJP and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena reached a seat-sharing agreement on Monday to contest 137 and 90 seats, respectively, in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls.

Expressing his displeasure over the exclusion, Athawale, in a post on X, said, "Since the formation of the Mahayuti, we have stood by the alliance with complete sincerity and firmness. However, what has happened today regarding seat-sharing is nothing but a betrayal of trust." He claimed that a meeting for discussions was scheduled at 4 pm on Monday, but the alliance partners had failed to honour the commitment.

This is not just a waste of time, but an attack on our self-respect, he wrote. "With the Mumbai civic elections around the corner, I will not tolerate this insult to my party workers. Hence, whatever decision my workers take today will have my full support," Athawale said.

Meanwhile, RPI (A) sources told ANI that candidates from the party will file nominations in 50 seats.

"There is still time for withdrawal of nominations. Let's see if there is an honourable discussion and a decision is made to withdraw or go into friendly fights. Till then, we are going solo and contesting 50 seats," a party source said.

While the BJP and Shiv Sena have announced a seat-sharing pact, another constituent of Mahayuti, the NCP, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, is contesting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls separately.

The deadline to file nomination papers for the January 15 polls for 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra closes on Tuesday.