MUMBAI, Dec. 25 -- While the Thackeray cousins made their electoral alliance for the BMC elections public on Wednesday, the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena were still in marathon meetings to work out alliances in most of the state's 29 civic bodies. In Mumbai, the two parties have almost reached a consensus on 200 out of 227 seats. Shinde and state BJP chief Ravindra Chavan had a five-hour marathon meeting on Tuesday night to sort out the seat-sharing disputes in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, including Mumbai. Following this, Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde had another long meeting early on Wednesday morning, with a final meeting expected on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning to seal the deal. Fadnavis was also to hold a meeting with Ajit Pawar to take the NCP on board wherever possible and prevent a split in the Mahayuti's votes. In Mumbai, the BJP is willing to spare 85 to 95 seats for the Sena while Shinde is still asking for a 50% share. The party also wants a good representation in Marathi-dominated areas where Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena are contesting. Besides, over 125 corporators from various parties have crossed over to the Sena (over 55 of these being in the 2017-2022 period), and Shinde has told the BJP that he needs to take care of them. Shinde on Wednesday told the media that the BJP-Sena alliance would be announced soon. He said the two parties were "coming together on the issue of development" and also spoke about his meeting with his bete noire, BJP minister Ganesh Naik, for seat-sharing in Navi Mumbai. "Here too, we are coming together for development," he claimed. There are still problem areas for the parties. In Jalna, for instance, Raosaheb Danve (BJP) and Arjun Khotkar (Sena) do not get along, and the possibility of an alliance is difficult. There are also issues in places such as Kandivali, Dahisar, Wadala, Lalbag and Parel. Sena sources said that the party was offered places in Muslim-dominated areas, which it did not want....