Maharashtra Politics : Internal conflict in the grand alliance; Rebellion revealed through election results

After the Mumbai municipal elections, internal disputes within the grand alliance have once again come to the fore, with information emerging that due to BJP's rebellion, as many as ten Shiv Sena candidates had to face defeat. This has become clear from the official statistics released by the Election Commission. It is being claimed by some BJP officials that the number of BJP corporators decreased because Shiv Sena took more wards in the seat-sharing. However, in reality, in many wards, BJP's aspiring candidates rebelled, causing damage to Shiv Sena's candidates.

In Ward No. 121 of Andheri East, Shiv Sena's Pratima Khopade was defeated by just 14 votes. Here, BJP's Mandal President Jayashree Valvi rebelled and took 175 votes. In Ward No. 41 of Dindoshi, Shiv Sena's Mansi Patil had to accept defeat by 596 votes, while BJP rebel Divyesh Yadav secured 1260 votes. In Anushakti Nagar Ward No. 143, Shobha Jaybhaye, in Kurla Ward No. 169, Jay Kudalakar, and in Versova Ward No. 61, Rajul Patel also suffered a major setback due to BJP rebels. In some places, BJP's Mandal Presidents, Women's Front officials, or their family members contested elections as independents or from other parties and took a significant number of votes.

In the wards of Bandra East, Sion Koliwada, and Magathane, the defeat of Shiv Sena candidates became inevitable as rebel BJP candidates garnered thousands of votes. Senior Shiv Sena leaders express that this defeat was due to a lack of internal cooperation and coordination. The rebellion by BJP aspirants in nearly 30 wards allocated to Shiv Sena has raised questions about the internal discipline of the grand alliance. The political circles are keenly watching whether strict decisions will be taken after reviewing this rebellion in the coming times.