The BJP has initiated its BMC campaign with a drive asking Mumbaikars what they want from their city. In fact, over 50,000 people have already shared their feedback online. Now, beginning October 31, the party has planned a three-day drive to meet citizens face-to-face at railway stations, bus stops and housing societies, asking them about their expectations.
BJP Mumbai president Ameet Satam and senior party leader Ashish Shelar — a popular face of the BJP in Mumbai — have taken the lead in implementing the drive to build the party’s BMC manifesto through people’s opinion gathered directly from the ground. As part of this initiative, Satam will visit Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) on Friday morning and Marine Drive on Sunday morning.
Speaking with mid-day, Satam confirmed the party’s initiative to seek public feedback before zeroing down on the BJP’s civic manifesto. “The aim is to connect directly with voters and know their expectations from the city,” said Satam, a three-term MLA from the Andheri West Assembly constituency. The elections for the BMC and 28 other municipal corporations are likely to be held before January 31, 2026 — the deadline set by the Supreme Court to conduct the civic polls across the state.
Asked to share some interesting findings from the feedback, the BJP city president said, “Once the feedback collection process is done, the data will be collated, and thereafter, one will know what Mumbai voters expect.” The last BMC elections were held in 2017, and the corporation’s five-year term ended in 2022. In 2017, the undivided Shiv Sena bagged 84 seats, while the BJP won in the 82 wards of the total 227 civic corporation wards in Mumbai.
For a long time, the BJP has been aiming to gain single-handed supremacy in the BMC, which has been under the control of the Sena-BJP alliance for 25 years. Last week, speaking to selective reporters in Mumbai, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed that the party should be winning around 100 seats on its own. “Depending on how many seats it gets in alliance to contest, the expected winning seat number can rise or decrease by a few seats,” Fadnavis then replied to a query by mid-day.
The elections to BMC will see intense fighting as estranged Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj have buried their differences and are likely to contest polls as an alliance, with Marathi pride at the core of their campaign. On the other hand, the three-party alliance of the BJP, Ekanth Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP is said to be making the Opposition’s dream of retaining control over Mumbai an uphill task.
Taking to the streets…
While the BJP will hit the streets to connect with voters, the Opposition (Shiv Sena UBT, MNS, Congress and Sharad Pawar’s NCP), too, will come onto the roads to voice concerns over irregularities in voter lists. Asked whether the BJP has initiated a three-day drive to connect with citizens to counter the rally organised by the Opposition, BJP Mumbai president Ameet Satam refuted the charges. “Our plan to connect with voters was decided in mid-September. The BJP’s drive has nothing to do with the timing of the Opposition rally. The Opposition is busy cribbing, but the BJP has already started connecting with Mumbai’s voters,” Satam asserted.
