PARTY TRYING TO PUSH SS FOR ADJUSTMENT WHILE KEEPING ITS SHARE INTACT
Mumbai: Though the BJP did not declare any candidate from Mumbai in its second list of 22 candidates for the Assembly election the party workers are hoping for a greater share of power in the city in terms of contesting more seats and enhancing its performance this time.
The BJP had won 16 out of the 17 seats it contested from the city in 2019. This time the party has so far only announced candidates for only 14 of those 17 seats. The party is yet to declare candidates from Borivali, Varsova, and Ghatkopar East constituencies, which it had contested and won in 2019. This clearly means that either the party is undecided over whom to field from these constituencies or an intense bargain is going on with the alliance partners over these seats.
Apart from these three seats, party workers say, the BJP is eyeing at least a couple of more seats to come to its kitty. In Andheri East constituency BJP’s Murji Patel, who had contested as an Independent, polled second highest votes against Shiv Sena’s Ramesh Latke. His wife Rutuja Latke is the sitting MLA from the seat and she is with Shiv Sena (UBT), which is why the BJP is said to be very keen about the constituency.
The BJP is also opposed to at least a couple of candidates from the allies, like Nawab Malik and Swikruti Sharma (wife of encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma) and hence can get in bargain some of the other seats from the allies, the party insiders said.
For almost four decades the BJP had been slowly and steadily increasing its presence in the city. The united Shiv Sena was certainly powerful in the city than the BJP.
But, in 2017 the BJP won almost equal seats in the municipal corporation and on that basis bagged 17 out of the 36 seats in the city. While it is eyeing for contesting at least 18 seats this time, the party is certainly hoping for a couple of more seats.
Mumbai being the financial capital of the country, it is assumed that the party that rules the city would also rule the majority of business sector of the nation.
The BJP is also eyeing the municipal polls which might follow after the Assembly polls. To be in a better position to contest those polls, the party is trying to grab major share now, the insiders said.
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