With an eye on BMC elections while pursuing the Mission 2022, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who has been in constant touch with the state leaders to defeat Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, is expected to pay a visit during the Ganapati festival to Mumbai.
He will take the darshan of the famous Lalbagcha Raja and will also meet Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar.
Shah’s proposed visit is aimed to send a strong signal to the party workers that BJP, along with the Shinde camp, is determined to win 200 plus seats in BMC and thereby defeat Shiv Sena which ruled India's richest civic body for almost three decades.
Shah after becoming the BJP president and later the minister has been visiting Mumbai to take the darshan of Lalbagcha Raja. Earlier, he had visited the Ganapati Mandal in Shelar’s Bandra constituency. However, in the wake of COVID-19 restrictions, Shah has not come to Mumbai in the last two years.
A BJP legislator told the Free Press Journal, ‘’The party has already geared up poll machinery in all BMC wards. With the Shinde camp, the BJP is quite confident to unfurl the saffron flag atop BMC, defeating Shiv Sena in the upcoming elections. In the wake of the party's ongoing preparations, Shah’s proposed visit is quite crucial as he will review the present status and give tips. The party plans to reach out to the voters exposing corruption in the BMC during Shiv Sena rule and also on Hindutva and development planks.’’
The legislator further said that Fadnavis, at the recently held party workshop, announced that after voting to power, the BJP will launch Mumbai Development League in a bid to boost a slew of development projects in the city.
Another BJP legislator said that several former corporators from the Thackeray faction are expected to join the Shinde camp. ‘’This will help BJP-Shinde camp together to win more than 200 seats in the ensuing BMC elections,’’ he added.
