BJP and Shiv Sena Gear Up for Mumbai Showdown in Upcoming Lok Sabha Elections

Mumbai, 27th March 2024: The looming showdown between the BJP and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections sets the stage for a high-stakes battle, serving as a crucial litmus test for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and State elections. Having held sway over India’s financial capital for the past 25 years, Shiv Sena now faces a resolute BJP, which is sparing no effort to gain control of Mumbai, aiming for a comprehensive victory in both national and local polls, scheduled shortly after the LS results.

In 2019, the unified Shiv Sena and its ally BJP swept the Lok Sabha elections, replicating their success from 2014. Presently, the BJP is gambling with factions led by Eknath Shinde of Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar of NCP, both of whom have aligned with the BJP, wresting party symbols and names from Uddhav and Sharad Pawar, respectively.

Despite the BJP’s show of strength, the battle for the city’s six constituencies promises to be intense, with the opposition vocal about the ruling regime’s shortcomings. The BJP, alongside Shinde’s Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP, is expected to bank on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma and the city’s infrastructure development.

“The performance of the State and central governments, Prime Minister Modi’s reassuring leadership, and the party’s organizational strength will be pivotal to the alliance’s success,” remarked BJP’s Ashish Shelar to businessline.

“There were no trans-harbour sea link or coastal road projects to showcase in 2019. New Vande Bharat trains have been launched, and suburban railway stations have been earmarked for development. The party has fulfilled its key poll promises: the construction of the Ram Mandir, the repeal of Article 370, and the notification of the Citizenship Amendment Act. We are confident due to our performance,” added another BJP functionary.

Candidate Selection:
For Mumbai’s North constituency, the BJP has chosen Piyush Goyal as its candidate, replacing Gopal Shetty, who won by a significant margin in 2019. Mihir Kotecha has been named as the candidate for North-East, while other parties are yet to announce their candidates. Additionally, the BJP has not finalized candidates for the North-West, North-Central, South-Central, and South constituencies.

Challenges for BJP:
The BJP-led Mahayuti’s prospects have been boosted by the defection of several leaders from Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena and the Congress to rival camps. This includes prominent figures such as Ravindra Waikar and Milind Deora, who have joined the factions led by Shinde and Ajit Pawar, respectively. Despite these developments, political commentators anticipate challenges for the BJP in Mumbai, suggesting that victory won’t come easily.

“This election will be different from the previous ones. While the BJP holds strength in North and South Mumbai, the NCP does not appear strong in the city. Sympathy votes may favor the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, as people harbor resentment towards the BJP’s politics in Maharashtra due to various issues,” commented Abhay Deshpande, a political analyst.

Local civic matters, including the redevelopment scheme of Dharavi and the BMC functioning without an elected body for over two years, could heavily influence results in certain constituencies in the city.

Shiv Sena’s Perspective:
Priyanka Chaturvedi, Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP, criticized the Shinde-BJP alliance, highlighting internal divisions and alleged misuse of central agencies for power. Chaturvedi emphasized that many key projects were initiated during the Shiv Sena’s tenure and accused the ruling alliance of claiming credit unfairly.