'Mumbai Civic Poll, Assembly Election': BJP Sets Itself Maharashtra Target

The political heat in Mumbai is rising ahead of the civic body election later this year. The major parties - the ruling BJP and its allies, Ajit Pawar's NCP and Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena - are in the final stages of prep, as are their rivals, the Congress, and Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray's NCP and Sena.

The BJP has focused on cadre-building and continues to induct leaders, week after week, while most of the others are focused on re-building lost ground and voter connections.

The party swept to a clear win in the November 2024 Assembly election, claiming 132 of the state's 288 seats. That was a big result given its (and its allies) poor showing in the Lok Sabha election just six months earlier; the BJP won just nine of 28 parliamentary seats it contested.

The BJP has now set its sight on another dominant result in 2029, but with a caveat. This time it wants to be a more independent force; i.e., win and form the government on its own.

That target, the party hopes, will be achieved partly through pushing a hardline Hindutva agenda, as evinced by its recent recruitment policy.

On Tuesday, the BJP inducted over 50 office bearers from regions like Vasai, Amravati, Raigad, and Dharashiv. Many of the 50 were from the Congress or Uddhav Thackeray's Sena.

The event was overseen by the BJP's state unit boss, Ravindra Chavan, who used the occasion to advocate for ideological uniformity across all levels of government.

"It is important for us to have a government of one thought. With our party in power at both the state and centre... our next focus is the civic polls," he said, "The policies of the state and centre mean little if they are not executed by the local government."

Uddhav Thackeray Eyes Strategic Reset

In contrast, Mr Thackeray's Shiv Sena must navigate a tricky phase.

A poor Assembly election - the party that won (in its undivided avatar) 56 seats in the 2019 poll managed just 20 last year - was followed by a steady exodus of senior figures, many of whom jumped to join the faction led by Eknath Shinde, now the Deputy Chief Minister.

The pressure on Mr Thackeray and his party intensified earlier this year amid talk of the ruling alliance's 'Operation Tiger', a strategy to dismantle his Sena group from the ground up.

Party leaders publicly downplayed defections but signs of concern surfaced, including an emotional letter from MLA Bhaskar Jadhav urging his followers to support the party.

Some view this moment as an opportunity to reset.

Sources told NDTV Mr Thackeray may be amenable to such an idea, particularly before a civic body election. That would give the party and him a chance to try out new strategies - including an alliance with estranged cousin Raj Thackeray - before the 2029 state election.

Mr Thackeray has instructed his party leadership to prep for the civic body election in Mumbai with, or without, allied support, underlining possible rifts in the opposition bloc.

On a possible alliance with Raj Thackeray - whose party has been severely criticised over a wave of thug-like attacks on non-Marathi speaking individuals in the state - Uddhav Thackeray said.

"The alliance with MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Raj Thackeray's party) will be decided (but) you start preparing (to contest) all the seats,,," he said.

Opposition Struggles Amid Exits

The Congress, part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, is also grappling with internal issues. It performed better than its allies - Uddhav Thackeray's Sena and Sharad Pawar's NCP - in the Lok Sabha election, but the exit of major leaders, including ex-Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, contributed to a markedly worse showing in the state poll later that year.

To redeem lost support, the party has courted veteran leaders, including those from allies like former MLA Babajani Durrani from Sharad Pawar's NCP. Signing him may not have an immediate electoral impact, but Congress leaders view it as a symbolic boost.

Internally, the Congress hopes that such high-profile entries will help it reassert itself as the senior partner within the Maha Vikas Aghadi, especially amid murmurs of growing factionalism within Sharad Pawar's party following the Lok Sabha election result.