Amid ongoing power struggles and tensions in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti for the post of mayor in BrhihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the country’s richest civic body, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has said that the phones of newly elected Shiv Sena and BJP corporators are being used.
Raut also claimed that the newly elected members of BJP and Shiv Sena are under surveillance.
“BJP workers are monitoring (movements of) every corporator of the party. BJP is also tapping the phones of its own corporators. Even phones of Shiv Sena corporators ‘locked’ in a luxury hotel are being tapped,” a Shiv Sena MP (UBT) told reporters.
The BJP, however, rejected Raut’s allegations and stressed that the party does not resort to such activities as it trusts its corporators, PTI reported.
“We don’t need phone tapping but Raut should clarify who tapped the phones of Eknath Shinde and Uday Samant when Maha Vikas Aghadi (led by Uddhav Thackeray) was in power. We have strong support from corporators and we are not involved in such activities,” Maharashtra BJP media in-charge Navnath Ban said.
After the results, the Shiv Sena shifted its newly elected corporators to a luxury hotel in the city, citing the need for an orientation workshop on the functioning of the civic body.
Eknath Shinde insists that the next mayor of Mumbai will be from Mahayuti. However, appealing to the emotions of the Shivsainiks, Eknath Shinde hinted at the Shiv Sena’s claim to the post of Mayor of Mumbai. The Deputy CM suggested this as a mark of respect to Bal Thackeray in his birth centenary year.
The BJP and the Shinde-led Sena, which contested the BMC elections with 227 members in an alliance, won a clear majority, securing 89 and 29 seats respectively.
Adding tension to the power tussle, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, whose UBT has emerged as the second largest party, noted that his party could have its own mayor if “Dev” (God) was willing.
