MUMBAI: The victory of the BJP in the recent Rajya Sabha elections against Shiv Sena has boosted the moral of its cadre ahead of the high-stake Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections scheduled to take place at the end of this year.
BMC has been ruled by the Shiv Sena for over 25 years with the support of BJP, and now independently. In 2017, for the first time, BJP won 82 seats against the 85 seats of the Shiv Sena in the 227-member body. Now, former chief Devendra Fadnavis has said that BJP’s victory in Rajya Sabha poll is the beginning. “BJP will contest on its own the Assembly and other elections,” he said.
BJP leader Ashish Shelar, in-charge of BJP’s BMC polls, said besides BMC, there are 10 urban local body elections where BJP’s performance will be better than others. However, Shiv Sena has been also working on its strategy. “It increased the civic wards from 227 to 236. Most wards are dominated by Marathi supporters. It will help Shiv Sena,” a political observer said.