Who Did Sharad Pawar Vote For In Mumbai Today? His Options Were...

Mumbai: When Sharad Pawar voted this morning at booth number 214 in Mahalaxmi for Mumbai's civic elections, he did not have the option of choosing his own Nationalist Congress Party. The NCP has no candidate there. The party's chief will have to choose between the Shiv Sena, the BJP, old partner Congress or then just pick the NOTA - none of the above - option.

Mr Pawar voted and left without offering any comment. There has been intense speculation about a growing closeness between his party and the BJP, fuelled by the Padma Vibhushan, the country's second highest civilian award, being awarded to Sharad Pawar earlier this year. The BJP, which rules both at the centre and in Maharashtra, is said to be eyeing Mr Pawar's party as its back-up plan if the Shiv Sena follows through on its threat that their two decade old alliance is now over and will be formally severed at both the state and the centre after the civic polls.

After they failed to agree on seat sharing the BJP and the Sena have contested the election to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the country's richest civic body, separately and their campaigns against each other have been bitter and personal.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' BJP has 122 legislators in the 288-member Maharashtra assembly, short of a majority or 145 seats. The NCP, which has 41 seats in the assembly, can help bridge the gap if the Shiv Sena leaves with its 63 legislators.   

Mr Pawar's party too is contesting the BMC elections on its own, as is the Congress. The NCP is contesting about 200 of the 227 seats and Mr Pawar's area happens to be one where the party has not fielded a candidate.

The Shiv Sena and the Congress are contesting all 227 seats, while the BJP, which has tied up with some smaller regional parties is contesting about 190.The results for the two-phased Maharashtra civic polls (February 16 and February 21) will be announced on Thursday.

The BMC election is seen as a direct contest between the Shiv Sena and the BJP; the Sena dominated the municipal body, which has a budget bigger than some states, for the last 20 years.