India, Jan. 21 -- The tussle for the Mumbai mayor post has heated up with Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde staking claim on it for his party, and the Uddhav Thackeray faction alleging that the phones of the Mahayuti corporators are being "tapped".

This comes days after the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secured a majority in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, held after a 4-year delay.

Shinde wants the mayor's post given to his faction of the Shiv Sena as a "mark of respect" for the party's founder, late Bal Thackeray, whose birth centenary falls next year. It is worth noting that the BJP won 89 seats in the 227-member BMC, the most of any party, though no single party has a clear majority.

Maharashtra de...