A mega rally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also on the cards, after party president Amit Shah gave his nod to it. A mega rally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also on the cards, after party president Amit Shah gave his nod to it.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has started preparations on a grand scale for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections to be held early next year. The party is setting up 1,200 booths across the city’s 227 wards, in its bid to wrest Mumbai from the Shiv Sena, which has ruled the civic body for the last 15 years.

A mega rally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also on the cards, after party president Amit Shah gave his nod to it.

A senior BJP leader part of the planning and execution of the poll strategy told The Indian Express, “We have decided to project Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as the mascot of development. The BMC election will be fought under his leadership.”

Fadnavis will launch his development pitch on the back of the ‘mega-projects’ for Mumbai his government is working on, such as affordable housing, making the city slum-free, the coastal road, the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, the elevated rail and road projects, development of water transport along the city’s east and west coast, the Mumbai International Financial Centre and the Arbitration Centre.

“Fadnavis holds appeal among both Marathi and non-Marathi voters. He has already rolled out ten mega-projects for Mumbai, and will drive the civic polls riding the development plank,” the leader said.

The centre-state core committee discussions for the crucial civic polls have emphasised on three aspects. Apart from Fadnavis’s leadership, the Mumbai unit of the party has been asked to consolidate its hold in every ward, by setting up booths manned by teams of at least 10 members. The 1,200 booths have been provided with week-wise plans, to be executed in their respective wards. The only critical aspect still under discussion relates to stitching alliances.

The central leadership has conveyed that an alliance between the BJP and the Sena can be a reality only if the seat division is 50:50. This means that out of the 227 wards, the BJP wants 113 or 114 seats. However, overruling the majority sentiments in the party, the leadership has decided not to hurry with the proposal and wait and watch. With the Republican Party of India on board, the BJP believes it can consolidate its Dalit vote bank and make a dent in the Congress and NCP vote share.

The majority view in the party is that the anti-incumbency factor will work strongly against the Sena.

The MNS, on the back foot following several electoral setbacks, has kept its cards close to its chest. The meeting of Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray has fuelled speculations of covert alliance possibilities.

But a poll manager in the BJP said, “The ability of the Uddhav-Raj combine sweeping up the 26 per cent Marathi votes seems unlikely, as Dalits across 60 wards are also Marathi voters, but follow Athawale. The non-Marathi voters will certainly prefer a national party, giving the BJP an edge.”

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