‘Mumbai has sympathy for Sena (UBT); urged Uddhav to contest BMC polls together’: NCP leader Ajit Pawar

“The people of Mumbai sympathise with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena. The NCP does not have much strength in Mumbai city. Only a few of our MLAs and a few corporators get elected from Mumbai. Therefore, we have requested Uddhav Thackeray to face the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections together,” Pawar said.

Pawar said if the NCP and the Shiv Sena (UBT) face the BMC polls together, then the Sena (UBT) can also benefit from the arrangement.

“The recent surveys have shown that the Shiv Sena (UBT) is getting more seats in Mumbai. People in Mumbai definitely have sympathy for the Shiv Sena (UBT), after what happened last year… there is a possibility that if the NCP forms a united front with the Thackeray group in the upcoming municipal elections, they will also benefit from it,” Pawar said in Nagpur.

The move comes at a time when Maha Vikas Aghadi constituents – NCP, Congress, and Sena (UBT) – are holding talks over finalising the seat-sharing formula for the Lok Sabha polls and there are visible differences among the alliance partners on the issue.