MUMBAI, Jan 19 : Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday asserted that the mayor of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation will be from the BJP-led alliance, dismissing speculation of internal differences over the post.
Speaking to media in Mumbai, Shinde said there was no disagreement within the alliance on the mayoral position.
Shinde explained that in municipal corporations where elections were contested jointly with the BJP-led alliance, the mayor would be decided strictly on the basis of numerical strength. However, he clarified that in civic bodies where the alliance did not contest together, the party with a higher number of councillors would take a call on the mayoral post at the local level.
Referring to the ongoing political chatter around the stay of newly elected councillors in a hotel, the Deputy Chief Minister said that his party’s Mumbai councillors had been accommodated together only to help them get acquainted with one another and undergo basic orientation and training.
He maintained that the move should not be viewed with suspicion or given any political colour.
Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut alleged that several councillors from the Shinde group were likely to defect, and that the hotel stay was aimed at preventing them from leaving the party.
Responding to the claim, Shinde rejected the allegation outright. He said councillors who had won elections as part of a pre-decided alliance would not abandon that alliance, as doing so would amount to disrespecting the mandate given by voters.
Shinde added that his party would not allow such a situation to arise under any circumstances.
(UNI)
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