Ramdas Athawale's RPI to Contest 20 Seats in Upcoming BMC Elections

Announcement of BMC Election Participation

On Friday, Union Minister and party leader Ramdas Athawale announced that the Republican Party of India (Athawale) will contest 20 seats in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections scheduled for January 15. He also confirmed that his party will continue to be part of the ruling Mahayuti coalition. This statement follows Athawale's accusations of 'betrayal' against the ruling coalition for excluding RPI (A) from the seat-sharing agreement.

In a conversation with a news agency, Athawale mentioned that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis informed him about the difficulties in allocating seats to RPI (A) for the BMC elections, but assured him of a seat in the Maharashtra Legislative Council. He stated that RPI (A) will contest 20 seats while supporting Mahayuti candidates on 207 other seats.

Election Strategy and Support

Athawale emphasized that the mayor of Mumbai should come from the Mahayuti party. He reiterated that while they are contesting 20 seats, his party will support the BJP and Shiv Sena on the remaining seats. He confirmed that they are aligned with the Mahayuti coalition but will contest separately in some areas. The central minister further stated that they will work together with Mahayuti to ensure the coalition secures the mayoral position, a decision made by his party.

Details on BMC Elections

Voting for the BMC elections, which includes 227 members, will take place on January 15, with results expected to be announced by the Maharashtra State Election Commission on January 16. Following their recent successes in municipal council elections, the Mahayuti coalition is optimistic about achieving a significant victory in the BMC elections as well. According to the finalized seat-sharing agreement, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will contest 137 seats, while Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena will field candidates for 90 seats. The BJP has already secured some seats where its candidates were elected unopposed.