Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde on Sunday met the party’s newly elected corporators in Mumbai and announced that the BMC mayoral post will go to the Mahayuti alliance.

As political manoeuvring at hotels resurfaces in the city amid speculation over the mayoral race, Shiv Sena (UBT) has accused Shinde of effectively turning the hotel into a “jail” for corporators.

In the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party, winning 89 of the 227 seats, while Shinde-led Shiv Sena secured 29 seats.

Addressing the media after the meeting, Shinde said the voters had rejected “anti-development forces” and endorsed the Mahayuti alliance for governance.

He said, "I told them (corporators) about short-term, mid-term and long-term development plans to be carried out in phases. The state government will also offer help. There should be a feeling that our ward has to be good. They should pay attention to overall development in their respective wards."

"Behind the BJP, Shiv Sena is the second largest party in a short time. We are taking forward Balasaheb Thackeray's views. People of Mumbai have embraced development and rejected anti-development. The people of Mumbai have shown their trust," he added.

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When asked about the mayoral post, Shinde said, "In Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivali and other places, the mayor will be of Mahayuti."

Earlier today, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut demanded the "release" of Mumbai corporators confined to the "Taj Hotel Jail," and said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should take action.

"What position Eknath Shinde is holding out for is a matter for him and his party. His party is an appendage of the BJP. Amit Shah is their leader. They will go to him and make demands, but according to my information, Fadnavis will not listen to them," Raut said.

Raut said Shinde, despite holding the powerful position of a Deputy Chief Minister, was apprehensive that his corporators would switch sides, terming the whole situation as "ridiculous."

"They have kept their corporators confined. They broke away the MLAs, so now they have to keep the corporators confined as well. They had taken the MLAs to Surat. Eknath Shinde himself is the Deputy Chief Minister, yet he is afraid that his corporators will run away, what a ridiculous situation this is..." Raut said.

"The corporators who have come from this alliance (BJP-Shiv Sena)... out of fears that someone will kidnap them, threaten them, or harm them, they have been kept captive in the Taj Hotel. Eknath Shinde has turned the Taj Hotel into a Jail," the Sena-UBT leader added.

The opposition in Maharashtra trained guns on Shinde after the BJP emerged as the largest party in the BMC. Congress MP Imran Masood took a swipe at him, saying, "Eknath Shinde now has to fight to save his political existence, whether his political being will remain or not. The BJP works to defeat all its allied parties... Now he should give up his attachment to power and save his existence."

While the Shiv Sena (UBT), contesting in alliance with the MNS, won 65 seats, having a larger mandate than the Shinde faction, Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said the people of Mumbai have "shown him the mirror" and that the verdict made it clear which faction represents the "real Shiv Sena."

Meanwhile, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya said that the Opposition should accept the outcome and come to terms with what he described as a new political reality in Maharashtra. Speaking to ANI, Somaiya said, "The Opposition should now accept the political reality that they have lost. Their party is finished in Maharashtra," he said.

Bihar Minister Dilip Jaiswal said that the BJP and its ally will work together to run local bodies and take the BMC forward. Speaking to ANI in Patna, Jaiswal said, "Mahayuti and BJP contested the elections together there. The people have also given a majority to both parties in the alliance. Therefore, there, everyone will come together to run the local bodies and to take BMC forward."

Even actor Govinda, who actively campaigned for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, hailed the results.

As the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has recorded its most impressive performance yet in Maharashtra's municipal corporation elections, winning 125 corporator seats and significantly expanding its presence across the state's urban centres, party spokesperson Waris Pathan termed it the "result of collective teamwork".

Pathan, taking a jibe at Shiv Sena (UBT), said, "The public's mandate is a befitting answer to them. They should look within themselves for why they are losing. They were in power for 30 years, consumed public money, but what did they do for the public of Mumbai? The public will now be with the one who works for their development."

In Maharashtra, 29 Municipal Corporations underwent elections on January 15, with counting of votes on January 16. The Mahayuti managed to sweep most of the civic bodies, including the ones in Mumbai, triumphing over the Thackeray brothers; Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, beating the NCP factions despite them coming together to contest elections; Thane, Kalyan-Dombivali and Ulhasnagar.

Congress recorded a victory in Latur, claiming 43 seats, while the Sena-UBT and Congress alliance won Parbhani. (ANI)