All eyes on March 8 mayoral poll

The next Mayor of Mumbai will be elected on March 8, at the first meeting of the new House, civic officials said here today.

March 4 is the last date for filing nominations for the post and the election will be held at noon on March 8, a BMC official said.

With no indication yet of any post-poll alliance in the BMC, which has thrown a fractured verdict, it remains to be seen what strategies the political parties adopt for the Mayoral poll.

The development comes amid reports that divergent views have emerged within the Shiv Sena and the BJP, the two main parties in the civic body, over the date for holding the first meeting of the newly-elected House.

A BMC official said the Municipal Commissioner, who convenes the first meeting of a new House, during which the Mayor is elected, has decided on March 8, the day the term of the current House ends.

"However, a Shiv Sena MP has conveyed to the civic chief that his party wants the meeting to be held on March 9," he added.

Explaining the rationale for insisting that the Mayoral poll is held on March 8 and not on March 9, BJP sources said the seventh and final phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election is scheduled to be held on March 8 and if the Congress was to directly or tacitly back the Sena in the BMC, it could have a bearing on the voting in the northern state.

However, Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar told PTI that his party has not insisted on any specific date for the Mayoral poll. "We will abide by whatever date the BMC administration decides," he added.

Meanwhile, MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar today said he will be happy if the next Mayor of Mumbai was from the Shiv Sena.

"I will be happy if a Sena corporator becomes the new Mayor.

My roots are there (in Sena)," the former Maharashtra minister said.

In the recently-held BMC polls, the Shiv Sena won 84 seats, BJP 82, Congress was relegated to the third spot with 31 seats, NCP got nine and Raj Thackeray's MNS won seven seats.

Sena has claimed that it has secured the support of some Independent candidates.

Explaining the Mayoral election procedure, the BMC official said when the new House, which has a strength of 227, convenes on March 8 at the BMC headquarters in south Mumbai, outgoing Mayor Snehal Ambekar, who will chair the meeting, will read out the names of the candidates who have filed nominations for the post.

"Some time, around 15-20 minutes, will be given to the candidates in case anyone wants to withdraw from the fray," he added.

Then, the names of the candidates still in the race will be announced. After each name, the corporators backing the candidate will have to raise hands, indicating their support.

Each of these corporators will then be asked which candidate do they support. They will also have to sign against the candidate's name.

The candidate bagging the highest number of votes will be declared the winner, the official said, adding that the entire process will be video-recorded.

Unlike in the case of the state Legislature, the winning candidate does not require to achieve any magic figure. "The candidate with the highest number of votes will become the new Mayor," the official said.