The BJP and Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena have resolved to use Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Mumbai on January 19 to showcase their combined political might and improve bonding at the grassroot-level ahead of upcoming city elections. A joint meeting of the two alliance partners late on Sunday night went into the minute details of planning and coordination for the public rally at the MMRDA grounds in Bandra Kurla Complex. Highly placed sources in the BJP said, "Although CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis formed the coalition government in Maharashtra on June 30, this will be the first occasion the party workers of BJP and Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena can display a united front. They will come together on the same platform to show their collective might at the PM's rally." The prime minister during his visit to the country's economic capital will inaugurate or lay the foundation stone for big-ticket projects like the metro, sewage treatment plants and a cancer hospital State minister and Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena spokesperson Deepak Kesarkar and BJP's Mumbai president Ashish Shelar addressed members of both parties at the meeting which lasted three hours. A senior BJP functionary said, "Deepak Kesarkar at the meeting exhorted both BJP and Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena to leave no stone unturned to make this a grand rally. He also told party workers to realise that Aaditya Thackeray's growing attack against CM Eknath Shinde was a sign of his frustration as Shiv Sena (UBT) is losing ground. They can sense their support base shrinking." Shelar made an ardent appeal to both sides to give their best to make the PM's rally a success. "We have been thinking of holding a public rally together. The PM's visit has provided us the great opportunity to fulfill our wish. We have to make it a mammoth show," he said. A special hashtag - #MumbaiawaitsPM - has been created for the rally. PM Modi's visit assumes great significance as it will set the momentum for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections. The BJP-Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena alliance looks to end the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s three-decade rule in the BMC. In the 2017 BMC polls, the BJP and Shiv Sena contested separately despite having been in an alliance in Maharashtra. The BJP won 82 seats, just two less than the Shiv Sena's 84 in BMC. The BMCs total strength is 227 seats. Shelar has this time set an ambitious target of 134 seats for the BJP in BMC. The party's poll managers believe they will definitely cross the halfway mark along with Eknath Shinde's party. However, BJP strategists know the challenges are plenty, with Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray whipping up the sympathy factor to retain its Marathi vote bank which accounts upto 26 per cent. Moreover, the Congress and NCP have decided to contest the polls together as MVA. "The PM's visit will help us showcase the mega projects for Mumbai," a BJP leader said Apart from a mammoth public turnout, the PM's rally is expected to help the BJP and Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena set aside differences and make the BMC polls a common cause. As a senior office bearer of Shinde faction said, "We are going to put up a collective show. When there is a sense of belonging, it helps to set aside internal differences." As part of the plans, various cells have been formed to manage the rally. From media engagement to stage preparations to crowd management, every aspect has been planned. Smaller teams comprising members from both parties have been set with the aim of improving coordination between the two allies. A BJP rally coordinator said, "After the government formation we have a CM and DyCM. We have 18 ministers of two parties working together in the cabinet. But at the grassroots the workers had confined themselves to their respective parties. Through the PM's rally we will try to ensure greater bonding between BJP and Shinde faction workers. This is necessary for electoral success ahead."
