After the recent vertical split in Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) next agenda on the list is to end Sena dominance in two key constituencies- Mahim and Worli.
The two constituencies are sentimentally important for the Sena, as Worli is held by the first Thackeray scion to enter the electoral fray Aaditya and Mahim is the constituency which comprises Dadar, the place that houses party headquarters Shiv Sena Bhavan.
With an aim to make a dent where it hurts, the party has chalked out a plan to defeat Sena in these two constituencies- the evident first step being the dahi handi celebrations by the BJP in these constituencies for the first time.
“Our central leadership has been directing us to concentrate on the constituencies that are held by key opponents. A special strategy has been chalked out to defeat Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) by taking on Supriya Sule in Baramati for Lok Sabha elections. Similarly, the state leadership has decided to concentrate on these Mumbai constituencies. Besides organising social-political events, the party has also been strengthening booth-level support,” said a senior BJP leader who did not wish to be named.
The Mumbai unit of the party this week organised dahi handi at Jambori Maidan in Worli where the Sena has been organising the festival for decades. Similar festivities have been organised at Gokhale Road for the first time by the party. “Not only dahi handi, but the party has been supporting local mandals and outfits in Ganpati and Diwali festivals in Mahim constituency. When we fought assembly polls separately in 2014, our candidate polled 24.55% votes against the winning Sena candidate Sada Sarvankar who polled 33.97%. We have strengthened our base over the years and expect good performance in civic polls this time. The responsibility of Mahim has been given to party’s vice president Prasad Lad,” said a senior BJP leader from Dadar.
Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar, who is spearheading the party in Mumbai in civic and Assembly polls, said on Friday that Sena won Worli with support from BJP. “Not only Worli, we will win the entire Mumbai in corporation elections,” he said.
The tussle between Sena and BJP has another angle of local tussle between Aaditya and Shelar, an MLA from Bandra. “Shelar had undertaken the beautification of Bandra reclamation using the CSR from ONGC and started sports activities after becoming MLA in 2014. Aaditya Thackeray, after taking over as guardian minister in 2019, removed Shelar’s name from the plaque at the reclamation and also denied permission to light up the area on December 31. Similarly, during the MVA government, permission of a community hall at Pali Hill was denied to Shelar and instead, the hall was utilised for a training programme started by Sena in the name of Bal Thackeray. The next episode of the tussle between the two was witnessed in Worli on dahi handi this week,” a leader close to Shelar said.
Shiv Sena legislator and former minister Sachin Ahir said that BJP never succeeded in such attempts against Sena. “They have been doing it in all elections, but voters never supported them. The BJP has no corporator in Worli assembly constituency and only one in Mahim. Their candidates stood third in the civic elections in Worli. They may be eyeing to damage us, but voters know it is a stunt. Albeit, we are not taking it lightly. We are all prepared to take them head-on,” he said.
Speaking about the allegations of attempts to corner Shelar in Bandra, Ahir said, “It is not true that Aadityaji removed Shelar’s name from the plaque. The beautification was further upgraded by him with the CSR funds from Reliance. In the process, the name might have been dropped. As far as the new year lighting is concerned, it has always been done by Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation. When the government changed, MSRDC assisted local Sena leaders to light up the area.”
