With no sign of rapproachment BJP & Sena claim winning Mumbai mayoral race

MNS may support Sena for Marathi Manoos; Cong may support Sena if it walks out of BJP-led govt

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

Shiv Sena on Monday targeted Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his statement that the BJP will never ally with Congress to assume power in BMC. Sena MP Sanjay Raut asked the BJP to first break its alliance with Congress at the local level and criticised the BJP for sharing power with the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in Jammu & Kashmir. "BJP, who gave a call for the Congress free India should not criticise the latter especially when the BJP does not feel PDP is untouchable," he noted.

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

Further, the 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

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

Congress with 31 corporators has declared that it won't support 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 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 Shiv Sena in 2005, alleged that 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 Maharashtra government unless and until 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 Shiv Sena.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), whose offer for the pre-poll alliance was rejected by 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 Shiv Sena but added that party's decision will be for the benefit of the Marathi Manoos.

Shiv Sena won 84 seats but has got support from four independents while BJP with 82 seats has been able to mobilise support from one independent. Congress has won 31 seats, NCP 9, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena 7 while nine corporators are from smaller parties.