CM Devendra Fadnavis too downplayed the Shiv Sena’s move to shift its corporators to the five-star hotel, ruling out the possibility of poaching. Mumbai will have a consensus “Mahayuti” mayor, he said. “Just like I am meeting newly-elected BJP corporators in Pune, Eknath Shinde may have called them for a meeting in Mumbai. There is no question of poaching,” he said in Pune.The CM said, “Eknath Shinde, I and other leaders from both parties will meet and together take a decision regarding who will be the Mumbai mayor and for how long. There will not be any differences. Everything will go smoothly. Together, we will efficiently run Mumbai.”Sena functionaries said it will only be fair on the BJP’s part to share the mayor’s post with it so that Shinde has “respect” in the alliance. CM Fadnavis was slated to leave for Davos to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Saturday night, and a final decision on the power-sharing pact in the BMC is likely to be finalised only after he returns next week.Sena corporator Amey Ghole explained Shinde will guide the corporators on the functioning of BMC and plans for the next five years.Eknath Shinde felicitated all his newly-elected corporators on Saturday, and corporator Amey Ghole said that at the three-day workshop, the Dy CM will be explaining the city’s development plan, implementation of the election manifesto, and preparation of a roadmap for the next five years.A Sena functionary said, “We are going to ask for the 2.5 year-term of the mayor. And this must be the first 2.5 years. The BJP can take the second 2.5 years. The BJP has not won enough seats to anoint the mayor on their own, so they must share the post. Posts on all other committees like the standing and improvements committees can be shared according to the winning ratio of 2:1. So the Sena must get the standing committee chairmanship for 2 years and chairpersons’ posts in other committees too.“The mayor’s term is for 2.5 years, so in the five-year term of the BMC House, the mayor is elected twice. Ghole said that at the three-day workshop, “Dy CM Shinde will personally guide the corporators. Senior party leaders will also brief them on the procedures of the BMC and provide guidance on effective governance in their respective wards. In addition, strategies and campaign plans for the upcoming zilla parishad elections will be discussed. – Chaitanya Marpakwar and Sarang Dastane
