Resort Politics Returns To Mumbai After BMC Election Results As Shinde Sena Moves Corporators To 5-Star Hotel

17th January 2026 at 6:12 PM

2 minutes read

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has asked all newly elected corporators of his Shiv Sena faction to assemble at a five-star hotel in Mumbai.

New Delhi : Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has asked all newly elected corporators of his Shiv Sena faction to assemble at a five-star hotel in Mumbai. According to party sources, the 29 corporators elected on the Shinde Sena ticket have been instructed to reach the Taj Lands End hotel in Bandra by 3 pm on Wednesday and stay there for the next three days.

The Shinde faction has emerged as a crucial ally for the BJP, which has fallen short of a majority on its own. Party leaders said Shinde was taking no chances and wanted to ensure that all corporators remain together until a formal claim to power is made in the country’s richest civic body. The development revives memories of earlier bouts of “resort politics” in Maharashtra, particularly in Mumbai, where parties have repeatedly housed elected representatives in luxury hotels or resorts to guard against defections during moments of political flux.

A similar strategy was seen during the 2022 Shiv Sena split, when legislators were moved out of the state to hotels in Surat, Guwahati and later Goa as competing factions battled for control of the party and government. The decision drew sharp reactions from the opposition, with Congress MP Naseer Hussain taking a swipe at Shinde. “Who is he afraid of? Who can poach his councillors? Who has the experience of poaching?” Hussain said, alleging that the BJP had grown at the cost of allies and splinter groups.

Calling the civic polls “the most hideous elections” conducted by the ruling alliance, Thackeray alleged widespread misuse of power, money and pressure. “Those who fought against it are the real saviours of democracy,” he said. On the BMC mayoral race, Thackeray said his party wished to have its own mayor in Mumbai but acknowledged the numerical disadvantage. “Even today we wish so, but right now we do not have the numbers on our side,” he said.

The developments come after the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance ended the Thackeray family’s long dominance over the BMC. Under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the BJP emerged as the single-largest party, winning 89 of the 227 wards and surpassing its previous high of 82 seats in 2017. The Shinde-led Shiv Sena added 29 seats, taking the Mahayuti alliance’s tally to 118, comfortably above the halfway mark of 114.

However, the results also highlighted Shinde’s struggle to retain the Sena’s traditional base in Mumbai. Despite most corporators of the undivided Shiv Sena backing him after the party split, his faction managed only 29 seats, while Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena won 65, down from 84 in 2017.