Shiv Sena (UBT) may field candidate for Mayor post, urges MVA to vote together

Uddhav Thackeray

• Shiv Sena (UBT) likely to field a mayoral candidate, urging Congress for support
• Mayor and Deputy Mayor elections set for February 11 in Mumbai
• BMC elections to be supervised by Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani

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The elections for Mumbai Mayor won't be unopposed as the Shiv Sena (UBT) is likely to field a candidate for the Mayor's election on February 11 and urge the Congress to vote for its candidate as a united Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), according to a report by The Times of India.

The nomination process for the Mayor will take place on February 7. The election for the post of Deputy Mayor will also be conducted on the same day as the mayoral poll.

"Sena (UBT) will not back the BJP in any way. The party may field a Mayor's candidate and ask all like-minded parties to vote against the BJP. So far, we are only seeing what is playing out between Eknath Shinde Sena and BJP. So far, we are only seeing what is playing out between Eknath Shinde Sena and BJP. The opposition has over 100 corporators. The Mahayuti's majority is thin. So we will show the strength of the opposition. We are in touch with the Congress and have asked them to vote for our candidate as a united MVA," the publication reported quoting a Sena (UBT) functionary.

Since the tenure of BMC corporators ended in 2022, the civic body has been functioning without elected public representatives. During this period, the Municipal Commissioner has been entrusted with the role of administrator. The entire election process will be conducted under the supervision of BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani.

Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday held a closed door meeting with senior Shiv Sena corporators where they discussed the potential candidates for the mayor and deputy mayor posts against the BJP and Shiv Sena in the BMC. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has also issued a circular asking all its elected 65 corporators to be present in the BMC on Saturday when the mayor and deputy mayor candidates will be announced and nominations will be filed.

The BJP is yet to finalise its mayoral candidate, with the names of several women corporators doing the rounds. The deputy mayor post will be given to the Shiv Sena as part of the alliance. The Shiv Sena is yet to finalise its candidate for the post.