Mumbai, Dec 31 (IANS) Around 32 seats out of the 227 seats of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are expected to witness a direct contest between the BJP-Shinde-led Shiv Sena alliance and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) combine, as no strong third-front candidates are likely to be in the fray in these constituencies.

According to sources, the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) faced difficulties in finalising candidates for 21 of the 62 seats allotted to it by the Congress under the seat-sharing arrangement in Mumbai. Party sources said the VBA did not want to field weak candidates merely to fill slots, while in some constituencies, candidates faced issues related to incomplete documentation.

In view of these constraints, the VBA informed the Congress on Tuesday morning that it would contest only five of those 21 seats, leaving the Congress free to allot tickets to its candidates in the remaining 16 constituencies. The Congress has so far officially announced 143 candidates in Mumbai. With the VBA contesting 46 seats and six seats allotted to other allies such as Left parties and the Rashtriya Samaj Party (RSP), the Congress-led alliance is in the fray in 195 seats.

As a result, the remaining 32 seats are not expected to see a division of anti-BJP votes. “This could benefit the Thackerays, as there will be no split in the anti-BJP vote in these seats,” said a senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader. He, however, added that the final picture would become clearer only after the scrutiny of nomination papers.

Meanwhile, both the Congress and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi on Wednesday rejected reports of a rift within the alliance in Mumbai following speculation over the 16 seats from the VBA’s quota where it is not contesting. Mumbai Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said there was no discord between the allies. “Ever since the announcement of our alliance, the ruling side has been losing ground. There is absolutely no dispute between us. Our workers and leaders are in constant communication without any glitch,” he said.

The VBA also dismissed the reports. Party spokesperson Siddharth Mokle said the claims were being spread by ruling parties. “The Congress was informed well in advance that the VBA would not contest in those 16 seats. The Congress took appropriate action, and once the scrutiny of nominations is over, the reality will be clear to everyone,” he said.

In the BMC elections scheduled for January 15, the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena are contesting 137 and 90 seats respectively. On the other side, the Shiv Sena (UBT) is contesting 163 seats, the MNS 53 seats and the NCP (SP) 11 seats.

–IANS

sj/pgh