Amit Shah To Visit Popular Ganesh Pandals In Mumbai Today Ahead Of Crucial BMC Polls

Shah's visit during the present Ganesh festival comes ahead of the vital Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, which are scheduled in September or October.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

During his two-day tour to Mumbai, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday will pay a visit to Lalbaug cha Raja, a popular Ganesh mandal, news agecy PTI reported.

He would also pay visits to the homes of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, according to a Bharatiya Janata Party leader on Sunday.

He stated that Shah arrived in Mumbai late on Sunday night.

"Amit Shah will hold a meeting at the residence of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday. He will visit some prominent Ganesh pandals in Mumbai including 'Lalbaug cha Raja', Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Ashish Shelar was quoted by PTI in its report.

Shah will also pay a visit to CM Eknath Shinde's official house and open an A M Naik school in Powai.

Shah's visit during the present Ganesh festival comes ahead of the vital Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, which are scheduled in September or October.

BMC Elections: BJP-Shiv Sena Faceoff

The BJP hopes to take over the BMC from the Shiv Sena, which ran the cash-rich local body until an administrator was appointed earlier this year owing to the delay in conducting elections.

With an annual budget of about Rs.37,000 crore, the BMC is considered Asia's richest civic authority. Even while the NCP-Congress was in control in the state, the Shiv Sena was a strong force in civic polls.

The BJP and Shiv Sena ran separate campaigns in the 2017 civic elections because they couldn't agree on a seat-sharing formula. At the time, Sena head Uddhav Thackeray reportedly threatened to leave the BJP administration in both Maharashtra and the Centre.

As a result, the 2017 BMC election became a showdown between the Sena and the BJP. The results were more encouraging for the BJP than the Sena, with the former securing 82 seats, a gain of 51 seats from the previous election.

Furthermore, the Shiv Sena fell far short of a majority, winning only 84 seats. Congress, the NCP, and the MNS, on the other hand, gained 31, 7, and 6 seats, respectively. Following intense talks, the BJP agreed not to oppose the Sena on the Mayor's position.

On November 22, 2017, Shiv Sena candidates Kishori Pednekar and Suhas Wadkar were elected Mayor and Deputy Mayor, respectively.

(With Inputs From PTI)