Shinde camp sidelined? BJP, Uddhav Sena coordinate over key BMC proposals
A series of highly controversial proposals have been put on hold and sent for reconsideration by a panel of the BMC, which is controlled by the BJP and its ally, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, following a late-night call between Aaditya Thackeray and CM Devendra Fadnavis.
A major political shift seems to be brewing in Maharashtra, where an apparent act of cooperation between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which heads the state's ruling Mahayuti alliance, and the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) took place recently amid major outcry over a series of proposals related to civic facilities in Mumbai.
The highly controversial proposals – the handing over of Seven Hills Hospital and five municipal blood banks to private operators, the conversion of a football ground in Bandra West into an exhibition or convention centre, and the modification of the Malabar Hill green zone – have been put on hold and sent for reconsideration by the improvements committee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
The abrupt move came after Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Aaditya Thackeray held a press conference, where he accused the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the BJP's ally in the Mahayuti government, of attempting to grab premium land in Mumbai through the proposals.
The real drama, however, unfolded when Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis received a phone call from Matoshree (the ancestral home of the Thackeray family). The resulting conversation led the wheels to turn rapidly.
On Aaditya's instruction, Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Milind Narvekar briefed the CM on the discrepancies in the proposals. Following this, Fadnavis immediately sought detailed reports from BJP corporators and instructed that the proposals in the BMC be stalled, according to Narvekar.
Interestingly enough, even a Shinde Sena corporator backed the reconsideration of the blood bank proposal, while the BJP chose to quietly orchestrate the pause from behind the scenes.
The coordination between the Thackerays and the BJP, who are allies-turned-foes, seemingly sidelined Shinde's party, sparking intense buzz about shifting political equations in Maharashtra.
Earlier this year, the BJP-Shinde Sena alliance seized control of the BMC after securing a historic mandate in elections to the cash-rich civic body.