On Amit Shah’s table as he visits Mumbai for Ganesh festivities: party’s strategy for BMC

But it’s the crucial polls to 227 wards of the BMC that top Shah’s worklist. His meeting with state leaders, sources said, is aimed at energising the cadre to take on the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena in the battle for the cash-rich BMC. The elections, delayed over the OBC reservation issue, is likely to take place in January-February 2023.

For the last 30 years, the Sena has held uninterrupted control of the BMC, in alliance with the BJP and later independently, giving the party the leverage it needed among allies – both existing and potential ones. The Sena, largely seen as a Mumbai party, derives much of its clout from its control of the civic body.

Having wrested control of the government from Thackeray, the BJP now wants to strip the Sena of its hold over the BMC. In 2017, for the first time, the BJP came within sniffing distance of the Sena, winning 82 seats to the Sena’s 85. Now with the Shinde Sena on its side, the BJP, sources said, will hope to get some Sena corporators to shift loyalties from Thackeray to the Shinde Sena.

Sources said the message from the central leadership to the state unit is: “We have to win the BMC with a thumping majority.”

While confirming Shah’s visit to Mumbai, a party general secretary said, “After the formation of the BJP-Shinde Sena government, this will be Shah’s first visit to Mumbai.”

Sources said Shah will hold a series of meetings, including with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, and newly elected Cabinet ministers and BJP office bearers.

The BJP has got its Bandra (West) MLA Ashish Shelar, who is the party’s Mumbai unit president, to lead the BMC polls. A confident Shelar believes the BJP is on a strong wicket and that the next BMC mayor will be from the party. “We have set a target of 134-plus out of 227 wards,” he said.