BJP and Shiv Sena finalise 143-8 formula for Nagpur civic polls

Nagpur: The BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Tuesday announced candidates for all 151 seats in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation elections, while another Mahayuti ally, the NCP, has decided to contest separately.

The BJP will contest a maximum of 143 seats, leaving just eight seats for Shiv Sena.

The list was shared by Nagpur city BJP president Dayashankar Tiwari.

In a related development, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents, the Congress and NCP (SP), have decided to contest the Nagpur civic polls separately, with the Sharad Pawar-led party accusing the ally of not allocating 15 seats.

Nagpur NCP (SP) president Duneshwar Pethe claimed on Tuesday that discussions continued with Congress leaders until Monday night. However, later the leaders stopped responding to our phone calls, which indicated that they do not want to forge an alliance, he told the news agency.

“It seems the Congress wants to help the BJP and decided against allying with us”, the NCP (SP) leader alleged.

Elections to 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra will be held on January 15, and the votes will be counted the next day. The deadline for filing nominations is Tuesday, while January 2 is the last date for withdrawal. The final list of candidates will be published on January 3.

In the last election held for the 151-member Nagpur civic body in 2017, the BJP won 108 seats, the Congress 28, BSP 10, Shiv Sena (undivided) 2, and NCP (undivided) one seat.