BJP ties up with Sena, offers deputy mayor post in Sambhajinagar

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: BJP sprung a surprise on Friday by forging a post-poll alliance with Shiv Sena in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation. The party announced Sameer Rajurkar as its candidate for mayor and offered deputy mayor's post to Sena. This comes after rounds of pre-poll talks between the parties were fruitless.The alliance was announced on Friday, the last day to file nominations for the mayoral posts. The elections to the post are scheduled for Feb 10. Shiv Sena district chief and former deputy mayor Rajendra Janjal was named the deputy mayoral candidate. Guardian minister Sanjay Shirsat was not part of Janjal's retinue while filing his nomination.BJP and Shiv Sena had contested the civic elections separately, with disagreements ruling out a pre-poll understanding. BJP emerged as the single largest party with 57 of the 115 seats, one short of a majority, triggering internal pressure against any alliance.Uncertainty persisted for days over BJP's mayoral nominee. After a meeting chaired by state BJP president Ravindra Chavan, four names were reportedly sent to the party's leadership. The delay unsettled corporators before Rajurkar's name was cleared on Friday morning. He filed his nomination in the afternoon, accompanied by senior BJP and Sena leaders.The offer of the deputy mayor's post to Shiv Sena was shaped by internal rifts within the party. Differences reportedly emerged between Shirsat and Janjal over mayoral aspirations, weakening Sena's cohesion as it was reduced to 13 corporators. With talks stalling, Shirsat withdrew from negotiations. MLA Pradeep Jaiswal later proposed Janjal's name, which was endorsed by the party observer. AIMIM also entered the contest, fielding Ashok Hiwrale for mayor and Mohammed Wasim Ahmed for deputy mayor.