BMC Mayor: The power struggle between BJP and Shiv Sena continues, Shinde insists on the mayor's post for one year; decision to be made in Delhi.

Amidst the ongoing power struggle between the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena over the Mumbai mayoral post, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has insisted on a one-year term for the mayor, citing the birth centenary of Shiv Sena founder, the late Balasaheb Thackeray. Several BJP and Shiv Sena leaders arrived in Delhi on Tuesday. It is believed that the issue of the Mumbai mayor will now be resolved in Delhi.

A Shiv Sena leader stated that Shinde has demanded the mayoral post for one year. Shinde argues that it is the people's wish to have a Shiv Sena mayor during Balasaheb's centenary year. The Shinde faction believes this will also give them leverage against Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT).

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, BJP leader and state Cultural Minister Ashish Shelar and Mumbai BJP president Amit Satam, along with Rahul Shewale from the Shinde faction, arrived in Delhi. They are expected to meet with Home Minister Amit Shah. Before that, a crucial meeting between the two parties will be held at Maharashtra Sadan. Discussions will focus on the chairmanship of four important BMC committees (Standing Committee, Improvement Committee, Education Committee, and BEST Committee).

Shinde-Fadnavis Meeting on the 25th

A Shiv Sena leader said that the final decision on the mayoral post and other committee positions will be made after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis returns from Davos. A meeting between Fadnavis and Shinde is likely to take place on January 25th. In the 227-member BMC, the BJP has the highest number of elected corporators at 89, while the Shiv Sena has 29.

ShivSena Corporators Leave Five-Star Hotel

All 29 Shiv Sena corporators from the Shinde faction, who were staying at a five-star hotel in Bandra, Mumbai, have left the hotel. A Shiv Sena office-bearer said that all the corporators left the hotel in Bandra where they had been staying since the BMC election results were declared on January 16th. Before leaving the hotel, the corporators registered themselves as a group with the Konkan Divisional Commissioner, a necessary procedure after the elections.