‘Eknath Shinde turned hotel into jail’: Sanjay Raut’s big charge amid Mumbai mayor battle; corporators kept in captivity, says MP

MUMBAI: Amid the ongoing battle for Mumbai’s mayor post, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said that even corporators from Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena “do not want a BJP mayor in Mumbai.”He added that "many people are in touch with his party". Speaking to reporters on Sunday, 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. He should immediately release the twenty-nine or twenty-five people he has held captive there."Mayor battle intensifiesThe BJP–Shinde-led Shiv Sena alliance has a majority in the 227-member Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, but it is unclear who will become mayor.While it is not mandatory for the single largest party to get the post, past trends show that parties with a clear majority usually manage to claim it.In the election, the BJP won 89 seats, the Shinde-led Sena 29, and Shiv Sena (UBT) 65. The outgoing mayor, Shiv Sena’s Kishori Pednekar, also won this election.On Saturday, the Shinde-led Sena moved its newly elected corporators to a hotel in Mumbai, prompting speculation. Party leaders said the move was meant to help corporators “refresh” after the elections and undergo orientation.Shinde felicitated the corporators, while corporator Amey Ghole said the deputy CM would brief them on the city’s development plan, manifesto implementation, and a five-year roadmap.Sena functionaries said the party would demand the first 2.5-year mayoral term as part of power-sharing, arguing that BJP does not have enough seats to appoint a mayor on its own and must share the post.They also sought proportional sharing of key committee posts.