Shiv Sena (UBT) firebrand Sanjay Raut unleashed a barrage of questions on Monday over the post-BMC poll hotel stay of Eknath Shinde faction’s corporators, challenging BJP’s path to the mayor’s chair. ‘Everyone’s claiming BJP will get the mayor, but clarify how,’ Raut demanded from journalists.
The BMC election yielded no clear winner, with parties falling short of majority. Raut called BJP’s victory assertions premature and puzzling. ‘If they push through, it’ll be a mayor on life support – politically doomed from day one,’ he forecasted.
Turning to Shinde’s moves, Raut spotlighted the 20-25 corporators’ hotel refuge. ‘They’re disrupting other guests, who feel like prisoners. What signal to allies? Can Maharashtra stomach this spectacle?’
BJP governs Maharashtra, yet resorts to such extremes. ‘Fear of what? Poaching? Defections?’ Raut interrogated. His party’s councilors, he noted, operate transparently at Matoshree.
Raut called for full disclosure on these insecurities. In a politically charged atmosphere, his comments highlight the high-wire act of mayor selection, where trust deficits could derail alliances and reshape Mumbai’s municipal leadership.