Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party has released its first list of candidates for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections in Maharashtra’s capital, Mumbai. The BJP will contest 140 of the 227 seats in the BMC, while Shinde’s Sena will contest 87. The BJP released its first list of 66 candidates for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, scheduled for January next year. The Mahayuti-led BJP is buoyed by its success in the recent municipal council and town council elections in the state and aims to replicate that performance in the municipal corporation elections. The BJP is contesting the BMC elections in alliance with Deputy Chief Minister Shinde’s Shiv Sena. The BJP will contest 140 of the 227 seats in the BMC, while Shinde’s Sena will contest 87 seats.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has consistently supported the Shiv Sena and has instructed BJP leaders not to attack Shinde’s party. He said last week, “The BJP and Shiv Sena are united. Everything is going smoothly. We don’t need to formally announce an alliance.” Paying tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he said the Mahayuti (grand alliance) will win the upcoming Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections. He said, “We are determined to form a Mahayuti government in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation and realize the slogan ‘Darkness will fade, the sun will rise, and the lotus will bloom.’ This election is being fought with the aim of establishing transparent and honest governance in the municipal body.”
