He cautioned about bitterness, saying, “These disgruntled candidates may return to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), and that can damage our prospects. Besides, it will also send the wrong message to Marathi voters, who are very crucial in BMC elections.”

However, the BJP has refused to budge. A highly placed source said that with Shinde firm on his demand for 90 seats, the BJP’s top leadership decided to bring the Ajit Pawar-led NCP on board as an alliance partner for the BMC polls.

“We cannot afford to concede even 80 seats to Shiv Sena. We can offer 60 seats. If Shinde remains adamant, then we may ask him to contest separately. In that case, the 27 seats being demanded by Shiv Sena will be offered to the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, and the BJP will contest around 200 seats. Even with a 50 per cent strike rate, that would be enough to come to power in the BMC. But contesting fewer seats will not help the BJP at all,” said a senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity.