Amidst the suspense over whether the MVA will contest the BMC elections together or not, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray has reportedly tapped Aditya Thackeray to lead its campaign. (PTI/FILE)
With BMC elections expected to be held later this year, the BJP has a target of 150 seats in India’s richest civic body. Aaditya Thackeray is expected to lead the campaign for Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, while the Congress leaves its MVA allies speculating whether it will go it alone
The Supreme Court asked the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker to rule on the disqualification petition filed by Uddhav Thackeray against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and 15 other MLAs for their rebellion, which split the Shiv Sena, the ruling faction and ally BJP to comfortably rule the government Support has been assured. Stability. With this, the saffron party has now turned its attention to the Mumbai civic elections to be held later this year.
The BJP jumped from 31 to 82 seats in the 2017 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election, but lost the position of the single largest party to the Thackeray-led United Shiv Sena, which won 84 of the 227 seats. With the Shiv Sena split into the Shinde and Thackeray factions, the BJP senses a “golden opportunity” to win the richest civic body in India, which the undivided Shiv Sena has ruled for over 30 years.
With the term of the corporators elected in 2017 ending in March last year, the BMC elections are due for more than a year now. The elections were first postponed in view of the rising Covid-19 cases in Mumbai and then the Maharashtra Legislature postponed the civic and local elections till the OBC quota is restored in the state.
The assembly then passed a bill in both houses to amend the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act 1888, thereby enabling the appointment of an administrator in the civic body for the first time since 1984. For the past one year, BMC commissioner Iqbal Chahal is running the show as the administrator.
Mumbai BJP leaders launched the ‘Mumbai 150’ mission for Mumbai, following party president JP Nadda’s recent two-day tour of the state during which he held several meetings. bmc election, The party’s Mumbai unit is confident that Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction will not get the required numbers to be able to appoint its mayor.
The BJP has asked party workers to reach out to people in their wards and explain how the BMC has become a “hub of corruption” under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray. The workers have been asked to explain to the public that Thackeray has so far been able to appoint a mayor of his choice because of the BJP’s support.
Along with the BMC election campaign, the party will also campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, popularizing the benefits of the Narendra Modi government’s schemes in every BMC ward.
In 2017, the BJP and the undivided Shiv Sena fought the BMC elections separately, despite having an alliance at the central and state levels. The Shiv Sena won 84 seats and the BJP 82, despite the latter supporting Thackeray’s choice for the post of mayor. The election results, however, marked a significant change in the Shiv Sena-BJP dynamics, with the saffron party adding 51 new seats as against the former’s tally of only nine.
Keeping in mind the challenge before them, the Shiv Sena-UBT has also started gearing up for the BMC polls, its first electoral test after Thackeray was ousted from power following a split in the party. According to sources, the party will contest the BMC elections under the leadership of Aaditya Thackeray.
There is some suspense on whether Shiv Sena-UBT, Congress and NCP are constituents or not. Maha Vikas Aghadi Alliance – to fight elections together In the last meeting of the MVA, held soon after the Congress’ landslide victory in the Karnataka elections, there was talk that the three parties could fight the elections together. But Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole’s comment that the party is ready to go it alone has muddied the waters.
Mumbai Congress chief Bhai Jagtap has said that the decision of the high command will be final. He had advocated contesting the BMC polls alone when the MVA government was in power, but now Jagtap is of the opinion that a “change” in the situation should always be considered.
In 2017, the tally of the Congress decreased from 21 seats in comparison to the previous election and came down to 31 seats. Its performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and Maharashtra assembly elections was also not very impressive. Some Congress leaders feel that the demand to go it alone in the BMC polls in these circumstances may not bode well for the unity of the party or the opposition ahead of the 2024 battle.
Karnataka may have boosted the morale of the party, but Maharashtra is a different ball game. This is the last election contest in the state before the 2024 general elections and no party can accept defeat.
