BJP8217;s new city chief talks gully8217; politics

He likens it to 8220;galli representation.8221; 8220;If every BJP worker gets involved with the problems in his lane and concentrates on solving them, the constituency automatically becomes a BJP stronghold,8221; he says.

He does not count on the relative strengths or weaknesses of other parties but insists that the BJP, esconsced as it is in the Centre, has a positive image that has to go down to the man on the street.

For the record, the party insists that the electoral alliance with Shiv Sena will continue, but there is no letting up on improving the BJP8217;s relation with the one crore population of the city. 8220;We have won seats mostly in the north and central constituencies of the city, in the corporation and this was because we were given those seats,8221; he says about the numbers of his party members in the BMC. Considering that these seats were few, he is happy with the successes. BJP has 25 seats in the BMC, while the Sena has 103 of the total strength of 221.

He analyses the growth of the three main parties in the country. The Congress, he says, retained its hold in the state due to its role in the co-operative sector, the BJP obtained its status by agitating national issues while the Shiv Sena is what it is today due to its work at the micro level, the shakhas. 8220;If all these strains were to be taken to develop the party, there would be real representation by the BJP,8221; he says.

Tawde, born in a lower middle-class family at Lalbaug, graduated as an electronics engineer from Pune Engineering College. He joined the BJP in 1980 as volunteer with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad ABVP at Pune. He was the Pune BJP unit8217;s organising secretary and later was in Delhi from 1992-1996, managing the BJP headquarters there. He returned to Mumbai following the alliance government8217;s formation in 1995.

Known as an organisation man, Tawde denies there is any disillusionment in the city BJP cadres due to the functioning of the earlier president, Kirit Somaiya. 8220;There may be a difference of opinion on his decisions, which is natural, but no disillusionment,8221; he says.

Nor was any such rivalry behind his refusal to contest the Mulund constituency for the legislative elections on the BJP ticket. 8220;I want to give myself more to party politics right now and not electoral politics,8221; he says. The new avatar, then, is just up his avenue.