Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Dec 24: With cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray set to announce details of their first-ever electoral alliance for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls on Wednesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has begun recalibrating its own civic poll strategy in Mumbai. One of the biggest beneficiaries of this shift appears to be Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Sources within the BJP say there was earlier reluctance to formally align with the Shiv Sena faction led by Shinde in Mumbai, as the BJP believed it was well placed to win the BMC on its own, given its growing strength across Maharashtra. However, the coming together of the two Thackerays has altered the political arithmetic, prompting the BJP to avoid any risk of losing the crucial ‘Marathi manoos’ vote.

Political commentator Hemant Desai noted that more than 50 corporators who won on the Shiv Sena ticket in the 2017 BMC elections are now with Eknath Shinde. “The BJP cannot afford to alienate them,” he said, adding that Shinde’s presence lends credibility to the alliance in Mumbai.

The BJP is also wary of the Thackerays’ ability to mobilise public sentiment on emotive issues. Their strong opposition earlier this year to the proposal of mandating a third language in primary education had forced Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to roll back the decision. In recent days, posters urging Marathi unity with the slogan “Marathi manasa, jaga ho (Wake up Marathi people)” have surfaced across the city.

In a bid to counter this consolidation, BJP leaders have sought to reassure Marathi voters. State minister Ashish Shelar, who is in charge of BJP’s civic poll strategy in Mumbai, announced that if the party comes to power, a Marathi person will be made the mayor of Mumbai.

Demographically, Marathi-speaking voters account for just under one-third of Mumbai’s electorate, followed by Hindi-speaking voters from north India and the Gujarati-Marwari community. Dalits and Muslims, both influential voting blocs that also include Marathi speakers, are expected to play a decisive role.

While Uddhav and Raj Thackeray are aiming to recreate the Marathi–Dalit–Muslim voter combination that worked for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is focusing on consolidating north Indian and Gujarati-Marwari voters, while also making inroads into the Marathi vote bank.

“Arithmetically, we are in a better position than the Thackerays as the combined strength of Hindi-speaking and Gujarati-Marwari voters is significant,” said a senior BJP leader. “At the same time, we will aggressively reach out to Marathi voters, as a section of them has supported us in the past.” He added that Eknath Shinde retaining the Shiv Sena name and symbol works to the BJP’s advantage.

State BJP chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye said that although many party workers were keen on contesting the BMC elections independently, the leadership decided to go ahead with its “natural ally”, the Shiv Sena. “Our grassroots strength has increased significantly, but in municipal corporation elections, we have chosen to contest with the ally that has fought Lok Sabha and assembly polls with us,” he said.

A senior Mumbai BJP leader summed up the party’s thinking, saying perception would be key in its battle against the Thackeray cousins. “It was important for us to show that the real Shiv Sena, led by a common party worker, is with us,” he said.