Mumbai, Dec 31 (IANS) A day after the Republican Party of India (A) announced its decision to contest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections independently, the Shiv Sena(UBT) on Wednesday said that Union Minister of State Ramdas Athawale should have understood by now that there is “no ally the BJP has not betrayed”.

In a setback to the BJP-led alliance, Athawale on Tuesday declared that his party, the RPI(A), would go solo in the high-stakes BMC elections, snapping electoral ties with the Mahayuti alliance.

Reacting sharply to the move, Shiv Sena(UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey told IANS, “Ramdas Athawale is a prominent and experienced leader, a Union Minister and a Rajya Sabha member. He should understand who he is aligning with. As the old saying goes about the BJP, there’s no ally it hasn’t betrayed.”

“If I say it in Ramdas Athawale’s style — if the BJP is not giving them the tickets, then they should definitely take BJP’s wickets,” he added, in a sarcastic remark.

Athawale’s announcement came after he accused the Mahayuti alliance of “betrayal” over seat-sharing arrangements. He released a list of 39 candidates, signalling a clear rupture in ties just hours before the nomination deadline.

Tuesday (December 30) was the final day for filing nominations for the 227-member BMC elections scheduled to be held on January 15. The RPI(A) has fielded candidates across North, North-Central, North-West and North-East Mumbai.

Despite repeated assurances and several high-level discussions, the RPI(A) was allegedly left waiting until the last stages of seat negotiations. Athawale claimed that the Mahayuti alliance failed to honour its commitments.

He had earlier said that while Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had instructed that RPI(A) be given seats from the BJP’s quota, the decision was never implemented on the ground.

Earlier on Monday, Mumbai BJP president Amit Satam had announced that the ruling Mahayuti allies, the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, would contest 137 and 90 seats, respectively, in the municipal polls.

Responding to this, Dubey took a swipe at the ruling alliance, saying, “Eknath Shinde is being given 90 seats. There was a time when Eknath Shinde’s party, our real Shiv Sena (then undivided Shiv Sena), used to give tickets to the BJP. Now, the BJP is giving them tickets.”

Adding to the cracks within the Mahayuti, another constituent, the NCP led by Ajit Pawar, is also contesting the BMC elections separately.

Elections to 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including the politically crucial Mumbai civic body, will be held on January 15, with counting scheduled for the following day.

In the 2017 BMC elections for 227 seats, the BJP had made significant inroads into the Shiv Sena’s traditional stronghold, winning 82 seats, just two short of the undivided Shiv Sena’s tally.

The Congress finished third with 31 seats, while the undivided NCP and Raj Thackeray-led MNS were reduced to 9 and 7 seats, respectively.

The AIMIM had won three seats in its debut appearance, the Samajwadi Party secured six seats, the Akhil Bhartiya Sena won one seat, and Independents accounted for four seats.

–IANS

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