The high-stakes elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the civic body of Mumbai, the country’s richest municipal corporation, are scheduled to be held this year and the final dates for the same could be announced anytime now.
BJP is looking very excited with the victory against Shiv Sena in the Rajya Sabha elections. Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly and former CM Devendra Fadnavis said BJP’s victory in the Rajya Sabha elections is just the beginning, adding that the party will fight assembly and other elections on its own.
Meanwhile, polling time which is now almost certainly post-monsoon, a season during which the civic body is set on fire by Mumbaikars for poor road conditions, floods, water-logging and poor drainage system This may be a cause of concern for the Shiv Sena, which leads the ruling coalition in Maharashtra.
On the other hand, the campaign for the power-sharing Congress in the ruling coalition is yet to begin and many senior party leaders have expressed concern over it, Indian Express informed of.
BJP excited about BMC elections
The BJP’s victory against the Shiv Sena in the recent Rajya Sabha elections has boosted the morale of its cadre ahead of the BMC elections due later this year.
While the BMC has been ruled by the Shiv Sena with the support of its former ally the BJP for more than 25 years, and is still governed independently by the Shiv Sena, in the last BMC election in 2017, the saffron party won for the first time. Shiv Sena has 82 seats in the 227-member body as against 85.
Former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and LOP have said in the Maharashtra Assembly that BJP’s victory in the Rajya Sabha elections is just the beginning. BJP will contest assembly and other elections on its own. Indian Express The report quoted him as saying.
BJP’s BMC election in-charge Ashish Shelar said that apart from BMC, there are 10 urban local body elections where BJP’s performance will be better than others.
Post-monsoon BMC elections could be bad news for Shiv Sena
Though polling is due late later this year, the Shiv Sena’s win streak of more than two decades could face some trouble as elections are now due in the post-monsoon season in September-October, the time of year when the BMC season. The storm is under eye for mismanagement during the U.S., which has seen widespread water-logging, damaged roads and flooding across the city.
Shiv Sena minister Aaditya Thackeray admitted after a meeting on BMC’s preparedness for monsoon, when he said, “If there is 200 mm of rain in a single day, Mumbai faces flash floods. You call nature’s wrath. Can’t stop.”
In addition, the party is facing the wrath of the opposition BJP over several key issues such as the failure to restore OBC reservation or the poor condition of roads.
Congress campaign is yet to come
Reports said that while the BJP and Shiv Sena are publicly facing each other with accusations and counter-allegations, the Congress’ campaign is yet to begin and several senior party leaders have expressed concern over it.
Last month, while around 150 members of the Mumbai Congress Working Committee met three secretaries – Ashish Dua, Sampat Kumar and Sonal Patel, along with Maharashtra AICC secretary HK Patil and other office-bearers, there was no specific discussion. Upcoming BMC elections.
“Elections were on the agenda for the day and ideally there should have been a discussion on the election strategy, but that did not happen and now it will be done later,” The New Indian Express A Mumbai Congress functionary was quoted as saying. He further added that since the elections are due in September-October, “we hardly have time.”
A senior party leader said that while the party should be united, he expressed hope that the Gandhi family would come to the city for campaigning. “There are many factions in the Mumbai Congress. Mumbai Regional Congress Committee president Bhai Jagtap should now try to get them all together. In the previous elections, the Gandhi family did not actively participate. This time, we want them to come to Mumbai for campaigning,” the leader was quoted as saying.
read all breaking news , today’s fresh news watch top videos And live TV Here.