BJP launches its last-mile push for 10 Mumbai Metropolitan Region seats

Mumbai: Following the end of the 4th phase of polling, all eyes in Maharashtra are now on the 10 prestige seats in the Mumbai Metropolitan region that go to polls of May 20. With predictions of a close contest, both the INDIA bloc and the Maha Yuti have stepped up campaigning.

On Monday, the BJP launched its heavy hitters into the campaign. Home minister Amit was in Vasai to canvass for Palghar candidate Dr Hemant Savara. External affairs minister S Jaishankar addressed two rallies in Kandivali for his cabinet colleague Piyush Goyal who is contesting from north Mumbai. Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant addressed another two rallies in Bandra for Ujjwal Nikam while Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Dhami was in town to campaign for Thane candidate Naresh Mhaske. BJP’s star speaker Tejasvi Surya had a busy day criss-crossing the city to address five rallies in Shivaji Nagar for Mihir Kotecha, for Ujjwal Nikam at Kalina, for Piyush Goyal at Borivali, Dahisar and Malad.

At present of the 10 MMR seats, the BJP holds North Mumbai, North-central, Mumbai north-east and Bhiwandi while the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has Kalyan, Palghar, Mumbai south-central, and Mumbai north-west. But the split in the Shiv Sena has made the contest keener with the two factions of the party pitted against each other in Mumbai south, Mumbai south-central, Mumbai north-west, Thane, Kalyan and Palghar. On Tuesday finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be in town to campaign while on Wednesday Narendra Modi will hold a roadshow for Mumbai north-east candidate Mihir Kotecha and address a rally for Kalyan and Thane candidates. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath is expected to hold thee rallies on the last day of campaigning on May 18 in Vasai-Virar, Santacruz and Dhule while Amit Shah too will return for another couple of rallies in MMR later this week.

On May 17, Narendra Modi will hold another rally at Shivaji Park for all 10candidates while the INDIA alliance will hold its rally on the same day at Bandra-Kurla Complex. The INDIA bloc rally will be attended by Mallikarjun Kharge, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray and Arvind Kejriwal.

“MMR and North Maharashtra are regions that are projected to add to the NDA’s tally. It’s among the most urbanised regions in the country with possibly the largest cosmopolitan demography. Our party has always had an edge with such a demographic set and once again we are hopeful of getting their backing,” said a BJP leader requesting anonymity.

“The prediction from Vidarbha, western and central Maharashtra are not too favourable for many reasons including the Maratha quota stir so we need to focus on retaining or even expanding our number in MMR,” he added.

BJP spokesperson Keshav Upadhyay said the infrastructure upgrade the BJP has stressed on will help the alliance. “Be it the Atal Setu, the coastal road, the upcoming metro lines, we have done well by the MMR.”

In his election speech on Monday, Amit Shah, said the sole aim of INDIA alliance was to attack Modi. He also accused Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar and Sonia Gandhi of nepotistic tendencies saying that while Thackeray and Pawar wanted to make their progeny Aaditya Thackeray and Supriya Sule respectively as Maharashtra CM, Sonia Gandhi wanted to see Rahul Gandhi as the prime minister.