In a significant political development for the upcoming Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde have decided to contest the polls separately. The long-anticipated alliance between the two ruling partners in Maharashtra fell apart merely two hours before the deadline for filing nomination papers ended on Tuesday.
Last-Minute Collapse of Seat-Sharing Talks
Despite several rounds of discussions spanning nearly 15 days, the two parties could not arrive at a mutually agreeable seat-sharing formula. Shrirang Barne, the Shiv Sena (Shinde) MP from Maval, revealed that he had taken the initiative for the alliance and had even travelled from Delhi during the Parliament's winter session to hold negotiations. He stated that their party president, Eknath Shinde, was keen on an alliance with the BJP, but the efforts ultimately proved futile.
"We were confident that the alliance would take place. Even our party president Eknath Shinde was keen on an alliance with BJP," Barne said after the 3 pm deadline passed. He explained that the Sena had initially demanded 29 seats. After the first meeting, they agreed on 16 seats, but the BJP's offer kept shrinking—first to 13 seats and finally to 12 in the last meeting on Monday.
The Sticking Points and Internal Pressures
The negotiations reportedly hit a roadblock over two specific seats. Barne clarified that these seats were sought by workers who had joined the Shinde faction from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and had already begun campaigning. "We told them it would not be possible to part with those two seats," Barne said, adding that they were even ready to contest on just 10 seats. However, discussions with both local and state BJP leadership failed to break the deadlock.
Barne denied speculation that the contentious seats were linked to his son, Vishwajeet Barne, or Nilesh Barne. He justified the demand for these seats, citing Nilesh Barne's decade-long tenure as a sitting corporator and his son's five-year role as the Sena's youth wing chief for Western Maharashtra.
On the BJP's side, leaders cited immense internal pressure as the primary reason for the alliance's failure. Raju Durge, general secretary of the BJP's district unit, stated, "We tried our best to forge an alliance. However, due to overwhelming demand from our party 'karyakartas,' we could not succeed." He revealed that he and his daughter were among those denied tickets but had accepted the party's decision "as true soldiers."
Consequences and Future Course
BJP Pimpri-Chinchwad president Shatrughan Kate confirmed that a disagreement over "one particular seat" led to the breakdown. With time running out, the decision to part ways was taken. Kate highlighted that the BJP had received nomination demands from nearly 820 party workers and had tried to do justice by giving 40% of the tickets to youngsters and prioritizing dedicated workers.
The fallout also saw several BJP bigwigs being denied tickets, including former corporators Keshav Gholve, Asha Shendge, and Karuna Chinchwade. In line with a recent central leadership directive, children of MPs and legislators were also denied tickets, affecting MLC Uma Khapre's son. However, former corporator Anuradha Gorkhe, mother of BJP MLC Amit Gorkhe, was renominated from the Shahunagar-Morwadi prabhag.
Barne mentioned that the local Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leadership had approached them for an alliance, but they preferred sticking with their long-term partner, the BJP. With the alliance off the table, both parties are now preparing for a direct contest. Barne stated that the names of candidates who will take on BJP nominees would be revealed after analysis.
This marks another instance of the two allies contesting local body elections separately, underscoring the complex dynamics of seat-sharing at the grassroots level despite being partners at the state and central levels.
