Fadnavis invokes Hindutva as he launches BJP-Sena poll campaign in Mumbai

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said the next mayor of Mumbai would be Hindu as well as a ‘Marathi’. He also promised a ‘Surakshit Mumbai’ (Safe Mumbai), a city purged of illegal migrants, particularly Bangladeshis

MUMBAI: In a high-stakes civic election, perhaps more bitterly fought than any other in Mumbai, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is invoking Hindutva sentiments to counter the ‘Marathi pride’ election plank of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), who are contesting as poll partners.

CM Devendra Fadnavis, deputy CM Eknath Shinde, and RPI chief Ramdas Athawale at a joint rally in Worli on Saturday. (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said the next mayor of Mumbai would be Hindu as well as a ‘Marathi’. He also promised a ‘Surakshit Mumbai’ (Safe Mumbai), a city purged of illegal migrants, particularly Bangladeshis.

Hoping to strike a chord with the ‘Marathi manoos’ (sons of the soil), Fadnavis said they would ensure that no Mumbaikar (native citizen of Mumbai) would have to leave the city for want of a home. Against the backdrop of the redevelopment wave in Mumbai, he said they would be provided with homes within the city limits, “bigger in size”.

The chief minister made these announcements while kickstarting the BJP-Sena campaign for January 15 polls at a joint rally at the NSCI Dome in Worli on Saturday. The rally was also addressed by Sena chief Eknath Shinde. Worli happens to be the assembly constituency of Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray.

The BJP-Sena are hoping to snatch control over Asia’s wealthiest civic body from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT), which as the undivided Shiv Sena had ruled the BMC for three decades. To retain his stronghold, Uddhav has teamed up with his cousin Raj Thackeray, leveraging Marathi sentiments to consolidate Marathi-speaking voters.

There are 227 seats up for grabs, requiring a party or an alliance to win 114 seats to elect the next mayor of Mumbai.

“An issue was created about Mumbai’s mayor. Let me make it clear, the next mayor of Mumbai will be from Mahayuti. The person will be a Hindu, he or she will also be a Marathi,” Fadnavis remarked.

Claiming the alliance was not against any religion, he remarked, “Everyone has the right to follow their own religion and pray as per their religious beliefs. We are opposing only those who refuse to say ‘Vande Mataram’... In Bharat, we are not an enemy of anyone but we will not spare those who consider Bharat their enemy,” the chief minister said.

Upping his rhetoric against the Thackerays, Fadnavis alleged that they were attempting to take credit for development work done by the Mahayuti coalition in Mumbai. “We have discovered that credit-stealing gangs have become active in the city,” he remarked. “The gangs, also comprising innocent children, are trying to steal credit for the Coastal Road, metro network and other infrastructure work. Any Mumbaikar will tell you that the development work was done by Mahayuti.”

Shinde, in his address, said Mumbai and Mumbaikars must be “freed from the clutches of corruption” and from the “grip of greedy predators”. “Those who indulged in corruption in garbage management, roads, khichdi distribution, and desilting of the Mithi River are not “work emperors” but have become “corruption emperors,” he said, launching a fierce attack on the Sena (UBT), which has ruled the BMC for close to three decades.