Shiv Sena eyes key role in Pune civic body despite going solo in polls: Neelam Gorhe

Pune: Senior Shiv Sena leader Neelam Gorhe has expressed confidence that her party would secure a "good number" of seats in the Pune Municipal Corporation, enough to "influence decision-making" in the civic body.

The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, a constituent of the Mahayuti government, is contesting the January 15 polls to the 165-member Pune civic body separately as an alliance with its ally BJP could not materialise due to disagreement on seat-sharing.

In an interview with PTI here on Monday night, Gorhe, who is the deputy chairperson of the Maharashtra legislative council, said the Shiv Sena was making efforts to reach out to voters across all wards in Pune.

"A mammoth rally was organised under the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Several senior leaders, including myself, Gulabrao Patil, Yogesh Kadam, Nilesh Rane, Kishor Patil and Vijay Shivtare, have been campaigning in the city," she said.

Asked about her assessment of Shiv Sena's poll prospects in Pune, Gorhe refrained from giving any statistics but said, "We expect a good number, which will be able to influence the Pune Municipal Corporation decision-making process."

On whether contesting the Pune civic polls independently would benefit or harm the Shiv Sena, Gorhe said that in politics, every development must be treated as an opportunity to move forward and overcome challenges.

"We were quite positive that there would be an alliance between Shiv Sena and BJP in Pune, as it was declared by the party high command in the state and also at the Centre," she said.

"Keeping this in mind, we initially identified 35 seats, which were narrowed down to 25. However, after repeated internal discussions, we concluded that selecting wards based on our own priorities was more important than relying on suggestions from the BJP," the Sena leader said.

Gorhe said they were hopeful that the state BJP and Shiv Sena leadership would be able to come to a consensus. But the BJP was firm on its stand and offered only 12 seats, she added.

Of the 12 seats, 7 were from areas where the BJP and Shiv Sena have consistently faced defeat in the past, Gorhe pointed out.

"We wanted an alliance with dignity and equal status, but it did not happen, prompting us to field our own candidates. Fighting the polls alone has given Shiv Sena an opportunity to assess our strength and win the confidence of voters," she said.

Asked if Shiv Sena is open to joining hands with the BJP after the civic polls, Gorhe said it is a hypothetical question.

"At this time, we cannot think about it. We are just hopeful that we would win a good number of seats, and it is secondary to think what sort of powerplay emerges in the civic body after the results," she said.

Gorhe, however, added that they are ready to ally with anyone who accepts their agenda mentioned in the manifesto about saving the hills, supporting environmental equilibrium, sustainable development goals, and issues of housing.

"We will think of an alliance with anyone who accepts our agenda. However, the final decision will be taken by Eknath Shinde," she maintained.

The Shiv Sena, in its manifesto, has stated that if it comes to power, it will protect the hills and biodiversity zones and will work towards the conservation of flora and fauna around Pune.

There is a need to relook at the environment and the development plan together with the biodiversity plan, Gorhe said.

"Secondly, we cannot forget the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) region. So, we are thinking about Pune Vikas Parishad, which means there will be a council where we will take opinions of experts and also the elected representatives of all the parties from the municipal corporation and PMRDA area," she said.

"So, keeping this in mind, whether the funds come from the Centre, the state or through industry CSR, we will try to have a more participatory and dignified way of planning the city, with active involvement of local people," Gorhe added.