Amid intense negotiations over control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has moved all 29 corporators of his Shiv Sena faction to a five-star hotel in Mumbai, reviving memories of past episodes of resort politics in the state.
According to party sources, corporators elected on the Shinde Sena ticket were instructed to assemble at the Taj Lands End hotel in Bandra and remain there for several days. The move is aimed at preventing any attempts at horse-trading or poaching as talks over the formation of power in India’s richest civic body gather momentum.
With 29 seats, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena has emerged as a key ally for the BJP, which fell short of an outright majority in the 227-member BMC. Party leaders said the decision to keep corporators together was a precautionary step to ensure unity until a formal claim to power is made by the Mahayuti alliance.
The development has brought back memories of earlier political standoffs in Maharashtra, when parties housed elected representatives in luxury hotels to guard against defections. Similar strategies were seen during the 2019 post-election deadlock and the 2022 Shiv Sena split, when MLAs were moved to hotels in and outside the state amid a fierce battle for power.
The decision drew sharp reactions from the opposition. Congress MP Naseer Hussain took a swipe at Shinde, questioning whom he feared poaching attempts from and alleging that the BJP had a history of expanding at the expense of allies and splinter groups.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray criticised the ruling alliance, alleging misuse of power, money and state machinery during the civic polls. While expressing his party’s desire to have its own mayor in Mumbai, he acknowledged that it currently lacked the required numbers. Thackeray also claimed that Shinde’s move to house corporators reflected insecurity and warned that the Shinde-led Sena could face internal splits amid the power tussle.
Reports suggest that the Shinde Sena has proposed a 50-50 power-sharing arrangement for the Mumbai mayor’s post, with a split-term formula of 2.5 years each for the BJP and the Shinde faction, to maintain stability within the Mahayuti alliance.
The developments follow the BJP–Shiv Sena alliance’s decisive victory in the BMC elections, ending the Thackeray family’s nearly three-decade dominance over the civic body. The BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 89 seats, while the Shinde-led Shiv Sena secured 29, taking the Mahayuti’s total to 118—well above the majority mark. However, the results also underscored a split in the Sena’s traditional base, with the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction winning 65 seats.
