Sena (UBT), MNS spar over co-opted member seats
Mumbai, Feb. 21 -- All is not well, it seems, between cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, who had come together "to stay together" ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls in the name of the 'Marathi manoos'. On Friday, a dispute between the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Raj Thackeray-led MNS over nominating three corporators as co-opted members of the civic body spilled out, with both sides engaging in a war of words.
Following reports that Uddhav Thackeray was unwilling to concede one of the three co-opted member seats that will come the Sena (UBT)'s way based on its strength in the BMC to the MNS, Sandeep Deshpande, MNS' Mumbai president posted a message on social media, saying "A narrow minded person can not co-opt you."
Though Deshpande did not name anyone, he was likely referring to Uddhav Thackeray as "narrow-minded", evoking strong reactions from the Sena (UBT) camp.
Co-opted members are nominated to the BMC by various parties based on their strength. Unlike elected corporators, they are not accountable to voters in a particular ward while enjoying all benefits as corporators.
The MNS expects the Sena (UBT) to concede one of the three seats it will get to them - MNS corporator Yashwant Killedar said the same publicly two days ago. A person close to the developments also said that Raj Thackeray had even sent an emissary to meet a top Sena (UBT) leader some days back.
Sources in Shiv Sena (UBT) said the party chief was miffed with Raj Thackeray's recent hobnobbing with Eknath Shinde, who split the Sena in 2022. "Our party chief was is of the view that as both parties had joined hands against the BJP and Shinde recently, such meetings send a wrong signal," a leader said.
After reports emerged on Friday about Uddhav selecting all three co-opted corporators from his own party, MNS Mumbai president Sandeep Deshpande posted the cryptic comment on social media.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar advised Deshpande to have patience. Raj Thackeray had never openly demanded a co-opted member seat and the Sena (UBT) had not officially declared the names of co-opted members yet, Pednekar said.
The Sena (UBT) leader quoted earlier said that though Uddhav was of the view that there was no need to give a seat to the MNS, other leaders felt the alliance must be strengthened by giving one seat to the MNS.
"Uddhav Thackeray will consider all these views and take a final call in a day or two," the leader said....
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