Union minister and BJP co-incharge for Maharashtra Ashwini Vaishnaw. (File photo)
Sources have also indicated that Ashwini Vaishnaw, who has been appointed co-incharge for Maharashtra, will be planning a special strategy for Mumbai
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has initiated preparations for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, focusing heavily on all 36 constituencies of Mumbai. The party believes that winning these seats is crucial for establishing a government in the state.
According to sources within the BJP, the party has formed teams that will survey these constituencies and prepare reports detailing the ground situation. These reports will assist the state leadership, central observers, and central leaders, who will be assigned to oversee the state, in deciding whether to repeat the current candidates, introduce new faces, or leave the constituencies to alliance partners.
The BJP is also working on a strategy to consolidate Hindu votes in these constituencies as a counterbalance to Muslim votes. In the recent general elections in Maharashtra, Muslim votes were consolidated against the BJP and the entire Mahayuti alliance, which led to the ruling coalition’s underperformance compared to the 2019 general elections. The teams preparing these reports will focus on how to attract more Hindu votes, gathering data that will be crucial during the election period.
Sources have also indicated that Ashwini Vaishnaw, who has been appointed co-incharge for Maharashtra, will be devising a special strategy for Mumbai. After the reports are submitted, Vaishnaw will collaborate with the state leadership to finalise the strategy. The report will categorise constituencies into two main groups: those where the BJP has a strong voter base and those where the party scored lower. It will also include information about the popularity of candidates, the status of development projects, the position of the opposition, and additional steps needed to defeat opponents. Sources also mentioned that the BJP will enlist the help of RSS cadres to prepare this ground report.
The Mahayuti alliance has yet to start negotiations among alliance partners over seat-sharing, as the BJP is waiting for the results of a survey conducted in July. The Shiv Sena, led by chief minister Eknath Shinde, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by deputy CM Ajit Pawar, will both face their first state assembly elections since splitting from their parent parties. They aim to improve their performance compared to the Lok Sabha elections and are expected to negotiate assertively with the BJP over seat allocation. Regarding Mumbai and Thane, Shinde is likely to demand a significant share of seats, citing his party’s performance in the recent general elections.
